The  Practical 
Gas  Engineer 


A  Manual  of  Practical  Gas  and 
Gasoline    Engine     Knowledge 

For  the  Gas  and  Gasoline  En- 
gine Owner,  Engineer  or  any 
one  wishing  Plain  and  Practical 
Information  on  this  style  motor 

Covering  Errors  to    be  avoided 
in    the    Construction     of,    and 
How  to  Erect,  Operate  and  care 
for  Gas    and  Gasoline    Engines 
and    Motors     of     Every     Type. 

Ninth    Edition 
Revised  and  Enlarged 

BY 

E.  W.  LONGNECKER,  M.  D. 

Copyright  Dec.,  1910 


- 


PREFACE 


Having  many  times  in  the  past  felt  the  need  of 
some  book  that  could  be  placed  into  the  hands 
of  the  busy  gas  and  gasoline  engineer  for  the 
purpose  of  aiding  him  quickly  to  overcome  the 
apparently  mysterious  troubles  that  often  arise 
with  these  engines  or  motors,  the  author  has  for 
a  number  of  years,  during  his  extensive  travels 
as  an  expert  for  one  of  the  oldest  and  leading 
gas  engine  concerns  in  America,  collected  such 
data  in  reference  to  CONSTRUCTION, 
EQUIPMENT  and  GAS  ENGINE  TROU- 
BLES as  are  of  special  interest  to  the  PROS- 
PECTIVE PURCHASER,  the  ATTENDANT, 
or  any  one  wishing  to  post  himself  thoroughly 
on  the  management,  care,  operation  and  selec- 
tion of  a  gas  or  gasoline  engine  or  motor. 

The  data  thus  gathered  and  compiled  in  this 
book  covers  practically  all  the  questions  that  arise 
from  the  purchaser's,  owner's  and  engineer's 
standpoint. 

464559 


4  PREFACE 

It  is  the  author's  intention  that  it  shall  be  a 
ready  reference  most  valuable  to  all  persons  in- 
terested in  modern  gas  and  gasoline  engines,  and 
especially  to  the  busy  engineer,  in  cases  of  emer- 
gency where  his  engine  refuses  to  operate  suc- 
cessfully and  the  cause  of  the  trouble  is  difficult 
to  locate. 

In  handling  the  various  subjects  the  author 
has  endeavored  to  studiously  avoid  the  theoret- 
ical, and  adhere  strictly,  in  as  brief  a  manner  as 
possible,  to  the  practical  questions  concerning 
the  purchase  and  handling  of  gas  and  gasoline 
engines. 

I  have  reason  to  believe  that  this  book  will 
save  many  a  gas  engine  owner,  not  only  much 
time  and  money  that  without  it  would  be  ex- 
pended on  repairs,  but  that  it  will  also  save  him 
much  mental  worry  and  make  him  and  his  en- 
gine closer  friends. 

If  it  does  either  it  will  have  attained  its  pur- 
pose. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


CONTENTS 


Part  I.  Page  7 

DESCRIPTIVE  and   HISTORICAL 


Part  II.     -  -     Page  13 

CONSTRUCTION 


Part  III.  -    Page  33 

EQUIPMENT 


Part  IV.  -     Page  76 

GAS  ENGINE  TROUBLES 


Part  V.     -  -      Page  93 

GENERAL  INFORMATION 


Part  VI.    -  -    Page  112 

DYNAMOS  and  MAGNETIC  IGNITION 


Part  VII.     -  -     Page  127 

AUTOMOBILE  and  MOTOR  BOAT 

ENGINE  TROUBLES 


Part  VIII.    -  -     Page  145 

MISCELLANEOUS 


PART  1 


DESCRIPTIVE    AND    HISTORICAL 

1.  THE  GAS  ENGINE  may  be  defined  as  a 
Motor  or   Prime   Mover  which   derives   its 
power  from  the  Combustion,  within  its  cyl- 
inder, of  a  mixture  of  gas  and  air  in  the 
proper  proportion  to  form  an  explosive. 

2.  The  COMBUSTION  or  burning  of  this 
charge  of  gas  and  air  is  occasioned  under  a 
close  or  heavy  compression,  a  result  of  the 
inward  movement    of    the    piston    after    the 
charge   is   admitted   and   all   valves   closed. 
The   result   of   igniting  this   mixture   under 
the  heavy  compression  is  what  is  commonly 
called  an  explosion,  which  is  nothing  more 
than  a   quick  burning  or  rapid  combustion 
of  the  mixture. 

3.  This    explosion    causes    suddenly    a    high 
degree  of  heat  within  the  cylinder,  behind 
the   piston,    which   heat   results   in   a   great 
EXPANSIVE  FORCE,  creating  arf  initial 
pressure    against   the   piston    of    something 
near  300  pounds  to  the  square  inch.     This 
drives  the  piston  rapidly  and  forcibly  on  its 
outward  movement,  which,  connected  to  the 
fly   wheels  by  means  of  pitman  and   crank 
shaft,  imparts  to  them  their  revolving  mo- 
tion and  consequent  power. 


•*:       :  THE  '*  ^RAhCAfc*  GAS    ENGINEER. 

4.  FUEL — A  number    of    combustible   pro- 
ducts are  well  adapted  to  be  used  as  fuel  in 
a  gas  engine. 

5.  The   most   commonly   employed   are   Nat- 
ural and  Artificial  Gas,  Gasoline,  Kerosene, 
Distillate,  Alcohol,  etc. 

6.  These   products    are    known    as    Hydro- 
Carbons,   and   may   be   considered    products 
of  Coal,  Vegetables,  Water  and  Crude  Min- 
eral Oil. 

7.  This    type  of  motor    is    variously    called 
Gas  Engine,  Gasoline  Engine,  Hydro-Carbon 
Engine,  Internal  Combustion  Engine,  Naph- 
tha Engine,  Kerosene  Engine  and  Explosive 
Engine.  It  is  entirely  proper  to  call  an  engine 
that  employs  gasoline  for  fuel  a  Gas  engine. 
A  Gasoline  engine  is  practically  a  Gas  en- 
gine.    All  Hydro-Carbon  engines  are  known 
also  as  Gas  engines. 

8.  Gasoline,  kerosene,  alcohol,  etc.,  atomized 
or  vaporized  with  the  current  of  air  simply 
forms  a  gas,  and  is  transformed  as  such  into 
power.     It  is  liquid  only  on  the  outside  but 
gas  on  the  inside  of  the  cylinder.     So  with  all 
the     other     fluids     named.      Therefore     all 
the  liquid   fuels  employed   in  these   engines 
must  be  by  some  method  first  transformed 
into  gas  before  they  are  useful. 

9.  BIRTH   OF   THE   GAS    ENGINE— As 
early  as  1680  Huyghens  suggested  the  use  of 
gunpowder  in  an  explosive  engine.  This  sug- 
gestion engaged  the  attention  of  other  minds. 


THE    PRACTICAL   GAS    ENGINEER.  9 

10.  M.    Beau   de   Rochas   advocated   a   Four- 
Cycle  idea  in   1862.     But  the  real  practical 
demonstration   which   proved    that    the    gas 
engine  could  be  made  a  success  was  made 
by    Lenoir    in    1860,   and    Hugon,    Siemens, 
Boulton,  Crosley  and  Dr.  Otto  a  few  years 
later  designed   engines  that  proved  the  gas 
engine  a  success  beyond  a  doubt. 

11.  FOUR  CYCLE  and  OTTO  CYCLE  are 
used    synonymously,    meaning    that    an    en- 
gine completes  a  Cycle  in  Four  (4)  acts,  or 
that  it  requires  four   (4)   movements  of  the 
piston  to  complete  a  Cycle,  as  follows : 

1st — On  the  outward  movement  of  the 
piston  a  charge  of  gas  and  air  is  drawn 
into  the  cylinder.  In  other  words,  inhaled. 

2nd — On  the  inward  movement,  the  valves 
being  closed,  the  charee  is  compressed  in 
the  rear  end  of  the  cylinder. 

3rd — At  the  beginning  of  the  working 
stroke  Explosion  and  Expansion  of  the 
charge  under  the  heaviest  compression 
pressure  causes  the  next  outward  move- 
ment. 

4th — The  second  inward  movement,  with 
the  exhaust  valve  open,  exhausts  the  burnt 
gases. 

12.  Therefore      two     revolutions     of    the    fly 
wheels  are  necessary  to  complete  one  cycle, 
consisting  of  an  Inhalation,  Compression,  Ex- 
pansion and  Exhaust. 

13.  All    Gas    Engines    are    not    built    on    the 


10  THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER. 

Four-Cycle  plan.  There  are  many  Two- 
Cycle  engines  now  on  the  market.  But  the 
Four-Cycle  engine  up  to  the  present  has  been 
a  great  favorite  over  the  Two-Cycle  with 
both  the  manufacturer  and  user,  except  in 
the  service  of  propelling  light  motor  boats, 
where  the  Two-Cycle  has  the  lead. 

14.  This  is  so  partly  because  there  are  fewer 
obstructions  to  be  overcome  in  manufactur- 
ing a  successful  four-cycle,  in  consequence 
of  which  the  manufacturers  have  given  more 
attention  to  perfecting  and    simplying   that 
cycle,  and  inasmuch  as  they  are  meeting  the 
requirements  of  power  users,  and  are  favored 
with   a  ready  market,  they  do  not  care  to 
leave  it  for  the  two  cycle  problem. 

15.  A  TWO-CYCLE  engine,  of  course,  must 
be  differently  constructed  from  a  four-cycle. 
There  must  be  two  compression  chambers, 
either  in  the  shape  of  two  cylinders  or  one 
cylinder  with  both  ends  closed,  or  the  crank 
chamber  may  be  tightly  encased  and  used  as 
a  compression  chamber.   THE  TWO  COM- 
PRESSION    CHAMBERS    are    necessary 
because  in  a  two-cycle  engine  a  charge  of  gas 
and  air  must  be  received  by  the  engine  some- 
where at  the  same  time  the  previous  charge 
is  being  compressed  ready  for  explosion. 

16.  As  before  stated,    two    cylinders,    placed 
side  by  side,  with  their  pistons  moving  in 
opposite  directions    at    the  same  time,    and 
with  their  compression  chambers  connected 


THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  11 

with  an  admission  port  and  valve,  will  cover 
the  requirements  of  a  two-cycle.  The  more 
simple  arrangement  of  making  one  cylinder 
and  piston  serve  the  same  purpose  is  most 
desirable. 

17.  To  make  its  operation  clear,  I  will  take 
for  an  illustration  the  single  cylinder  two- 
cycle  engine,  using  the  air-tight  crank  case 
or  chamber  for  a  receiving,  mixing  and  com- 
pression chamber. 

18.  The  casting  is  so  made  that  when  the  en- 
gine is  completed  the  pitman  and  crank  are 
completely   enclosed  and   work  in   this   air- 
tight chamber.     You  can  easily  understand 
that  if  it  were  not  for  the  piston  this  cham- 
ber and  the  cylinder  would  be  one  continu- 
ous, irregular,  enclosed  space.     The  piston, 
however,   working  in   the   cylinder,    divides 
the   space  into  two   chambers,   the  cylinder 
proper  and  the  crank  chamber. 

19.  To  the  crank  chamber  there  must  be  an 
admission   port   and   valve    to    receive    the 
charges.     From   the   crank   chamber   to   the 
cylinder    there    must    be    a  side  passage  to 
carry  the  charge  from  the  crank  space  into 
the   cylinder.     From    the    cylinder    to    the 
outside  there  must  be  an  exhaust  port  or 
valve. 

20.  NOW    NOTICE    THE    ACTION    OF 
THIS  ARRANGEMENT.     When  the  pis- 
ton moves  back  into  the  cylinder  it  acts  as 
a  suction  pump  to  the  crank  chamber,  and 


12  THE  PRACTICAL   GAS   ENGINEER. 

if  the  admission  valve  were  closed  it  would 
create  a  partial  vacuum  in  the  crank  space. 
But  the  admission  valve  is  opened  on  this 
inward  stroke  of  the  piston  and  admits  a 
properly  mixed  charge  of  gas  and  air.  As 
the  piston  moves  out  toward  the  crank  space 
it  compresses  this  charge  to  the  end  of  its 
stroke,  where  a  valve  or  port  is  opened  and 
the  compression  pressure,  in  the  crank 
chamber,  forces  the  charge  through  the  side 
passage,  into  the  cylinder  behind  the  piston. 
Now,  when  the  piston  moves  on  its  inward 
stroke  it  compresses  the  charge  behind  it, 
and  at  the  same  time  draws  another  into 
the  crank  chamber. 

21.  The   compressed   charge   in   the   cylinder 
is  exploded  just  as  the  piston  starts  again 
on  its  outward  stroke.     The  expansive  force 
of    the    explosion  drives  the  piston  with  a 
rapid  movement  to  the  end  of  its  outward 
stroke  when  the    exhaust    port    is    opened, 
and   the   burnt   gases   are   let   out   into   the 
open  air.     Just  after  the  exhaust  port  opens 
and  the  exploded  charge  is  leaving  the  cyl- 
inder the  compressed  charge  from  the  crank 
chamber  comes    rushing    in  from  the  other 
side. 

22.  Therefore   the   exploding   cylinder   is   al- 
ways receiving  a  fresh  charge  at  the  same 
time  it  is  exhausting  the  exploded  one.     In 
other  words,  emptying  out  the  old  on  one 
side   through   the   exhaust   port   and   filling 


THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  13 

up  at  the   same   instant  on   the  other  side 
from  the  crank  chamber. 

23.  A  Two-Cycle  engine  on  each  inward 
movement  compresses  a  fresh  charge  in  the 
cylinder  behind  the  piston  and  receives  an- 
other into  the  crank  chamber.  It  also  ex- 
plodes a  charge  and  receives  an  impulse  at 
every  revolution. 


PART  II. 


CONSTRUCTION 

24.  .Parts  necessary  to  the    proper    construc- 
tion of  a  Gas  Engine  are  Cylinder,  Base  or 
Bed   Plate,   Piston  and   Piston   Rings,   Con- 
necting Rod  or  Pitman,  Crank    Shaft,    Fly 
Wheels  and  Belt  Pulley,  Receiving  and  Ex- 
haust  Valves,     Igniting    Device    and    Gov- 
ernor,    Oiler,     Carbureter,     Screws,     Pins, 
Nuts,  Bolts,  Springs,  Levers,  etc. 

25.  A  cylinder  head  and  water  jacket  might  be 
included,  although  the  cylinder  head  in  some 
engines  is  continuous  with  the  walls  of  the 
cylinder,  and  consequently  a  part  of  it.     The 
cooling,  for  which  purpose  the  water  jacket 
serves,  may  be  done  otherwise,  as  with  spin- 
ous  projections  cast  around  and  contiguous 
with  the  cylinder  wall. 

26.  CYLINDER— In    writing    on     construe- 


14  THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER. 

tion  the  Four-Cycle  engine  only  will  be  con- 
sidered. 

27.  A   Cylinder   is   made   of  gray   iron   cast- 
ings, with  either  one  or  both  ends  open.     If 
both  ends  are  open  a  cylinder  head  is  fitted 
onto  one  end  so  as  to  close  it.     The  cylinder 
is  usually  cast  with  water  jacket,  although 
the  water  jacket  may  be  cast  separate  and 
fit  onto  the  cylinder.     Exhaust  and  receiv- 
ing valve  ports  are  cast  into  the  head  or  onto 
the  sides  of  one  end  of  the  cylinder. 

28.  So  far  as  the  success  or  failure  of  a  valve 
is  concerned,  location  of  its  port  has  very 
little  to  do  with  it  so  long  as  it  opens  into 
the   compression   chamber.       That   location 
is   usually   selected   where   it  is  believed   to 
be  most  convenient  to  operate    the    move- 
ments of  the  valve. 

29.  Both  end  and  side  port  valves  are  used 
very  successfully.    A  number  of  successful 
engines  have  their  valve  ports  on   the  top 
and  bottom  of  the  cylinder,  if  of  the  horizon- 
tal pattern. 

30.  Many  small  engines  have  the  base  and  cyl- 
inder cast  in  one  piece.     Other  cylinders  have 
lugs,  brackets  or  rests  cast  on  them,  which 
are  fitted  to  a  similar  casting  on  the  base  by 
means  of  stud  bolts  and  nuts,  and  are  there- 
fore bolted  on. 

31.  On  small,  light  weight  engines  where  com- 
bined cylinder  and  base  castings  are  used  and 
easily  handled  there  can  be  no  reasonable  ex- 


THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  15 

cuse  offered  against  the  plan. 

32.  It  is  argued  by  some  builders  that  in  case 
of  a  break  to  either  cylinder  or  bed  only 
one  need  be  supplied    to    repair    the    break, 
but  the  increased  amount  of  machine  work 
and  time  spent  in   detaching  the  old  piece 
and  putting  on  the  new  about  offsets  their 
argument.     In  cost  of  repairs  there  is  very 
little  difference. 

33.  The   metal   in   the  walls   of  the    cylinder 
should  be  of  uniform  thickness  in  its  entire 
circumference  and  from  one  end  to  the  other, 
so  as  to  allow  equal  expansion  and  contrac- 
tion throughout. 

34.  The  bore   of   the   cylinder   should   be   as 
nearly  perfect  as   machinery,  handled  by  a 
careful   and   skilled  mechanic,   can  make  it. 
The  igniting  end  of  the  interior  of  the  cyl- 
inder should  be  smooth  and  free  from  pro- 
jections or  sharp  corners.     The  valve  ports 
should  be  of  ample  capacity  to  allow  easy 
admission  and  free  exhaust.     Cylinder  walls 
should  be   from   ^   inch  thickness  in   a   5- 
inch  cylinder  to  24  or  1   inch  in  a  12-inch 
cylinder.     The  metal  in  the  walls  should  be 
free  from  sand  holes,  so  as  to  prevent  water 
leaking  into  the  cylinder. 

35.  The  base  or  bedplate,  as  its  name  implies, 
is  the  support  of  all  the  working  parts  of 
the  engine,  and  should  be  so  designed  as  to 
be  sufficiently  strong  at  all  points  where  a 
special  strain  is  liable  to  be  exerted.     The 


16  THE  PRACTICAL   GAS    ENGINEER. 

base  is  the  support  for  the  cylinder  and  fly 
wheels,  and  should  be  so  arranged  as  to  carry 
these  in  the  most  simple,  convenient,  efficient 
and  compact  manner. 

36.  In   small   engines   it  is   desirable  to  have 
the  base  of  sufficient  height  to  clear  the  fly 
wheels,   so  that  when  the  engine  is  placed 
on  the  floor  the  fly  wheel  may  turn  clear  by 
an  inch  or  two. 

37.  In  larger  engines,  where  it  is  desirable  to 
keep   down   the   weight,   for  convenience  in 
handling,  a  sub-base  may  be  substituted. 

38.  The  least  carelessness  in  the  construction 
of  the  crank  or  journal  boxes  determines  a 
partial  or  complete  failure  of  the  engine. 

39.  The  edges,    or  rather  the  inner  edges  of 
the  boxes  should  be  so  dressed  as  to  just  ad- 
mit   the    crank    without  practically  any  end 
play,  and  in  a  position  to  bring  the  center 
of  the   crank   pin   exactly   in   line   with  the 
center  of  the  cylinder. 

40.  The  brass  or  babbitt  bearing  should  be  so 
put    in    as    to    insure     the     center    of    the 
CRANK  PIN  in  its  entire  stroke  to  be  in 
exact  LINE  with  the  center  of  the  cylinder. 
In   other   words,   the   boxes   must   hold   the 
crank  shaft   at  perfect  right   angles   to   the 
cylinder  centers. 

41.  The  brass  or  babbitt  bearings  should  al- 
ways be  strictly  of  the  best  material  obtain- 
able  for  the  purpose.     The  least    variation 


THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  17 

from  perfect  alignment  is  faulty    construc- 
tion. 

42.  THE  PISTON  should    be    from   1-1200 
to   1-300  in.  smaller  in  diameter    than    the 
cylinder,  according  to  diameter  of  the  cylin- 
der.    It  should  be  a  close  gray  iron  casting, 
free  from  sand  holes.     It  should  be  of  the 
drum-shaped  variety,  closed  at  one  end  and 
open  at  the   other  to   receive  the  wrist  or 
crosshead  end  of  the  pitman  or  connecting 
rod. 

43.  The  crosshead  lugs  which  carry  the  pin 
to  which  the  pitman  is  connected  should  be 
located  near  the  center  of  the  piston  length. 
If   anything,   a  little  nearer   the   open  than 
the  closed  end.     It  is  bad  practice  to  carry 
the  weight  necessary  to  construct  a  proper 
crosshead  with  the  weight  of  the  pin  and 
part  of  the  pitman  too  near  the  rear  end  of 
the  piston. 

44.  There  is  no  rule  governing     the     length 
and  weight    of    a    piston.     Each    manufac- 
turer constructs    a    piston    of    length    and 
weight  after  his  own  ideas.     The  tendency  in 
stationary  engine   construction    is    to  make 
them     extremely    long,    which     necessarily 
makes   them   too   heavy   to   be   of   the  best 
service. 

45.  The  longer  and  heavier  a  piston  the  more 
friction   in  the   cylinder,    and    consequently 
the  more  power  is  required  to  move  it,  and 
the  more  work  will  be  thrown  on  the  crank 


18  THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER. 

boxes  and  shaft  in  reversing  it,  which  im- 
parts an  end  motion  to  the  entire  engine 
that  is  difficult  to  balance. 

46.  I  favor  a  piston   of   medium   length,    not 
too  long  nor  extremely  short.     An  upright 
engine  admits  of  a  shorter  piston    than    a 
horizontal,  because  a  horizontal  engine  car- 
ries the  weight  of  its  piston  on  the  cylinder 
walls;   and   the   longer  the   piston   the   less 
damaging  is  the  wear  to  the  cylinder.     The 
weight  is  distributed  over  more  surface. 

47.  An    upright    engine    carries    its    piston 
weight  principally  on  the  crank  shaft,  and 
therefore   should  be  as   light   and   short  as 
the  force,  with    which    it  has  to  deal,  will 
allow. 

48.  The  Rings  on  the  Piston  serve  to  prevent 
the  escape  of  the  expansive  force  past  the 
piston,  which  is  necessarily  somewhat  small- 
er, so  as  to  allow  its  free  and  easy  move- 
ment in  the  cylinder. 

49.  The  packing  rings  are  made  larger  than 
the  cylinder.    A  piece  from  ^  to  1  inch  in 
length  is  cut  out,  so  that  when  the  end  of 
the  rings  are  pressed  together  it  reduces  the 
diameter  of  the  ring  to  that  of  the  cylinder, 
but  leaves  an  outward  spring  to  the  ring. 

50.  After  cutting   a   piece   out    of    a   perfect 
ring  and  pressing  the  ends  together,  it  will 
make  an  oval  shaped  instead  of  a  perfect 
ring,  and  consequently  it  can  not  fit  a  perfect 
cylinder.     After  the   ring  is   cut    the    ends 


THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  19 

should  be  pressed  together  and  again  turned 
to  a  perfect  ring,  on  the  outside  at  least.  It 
is  to  be  regretted  that  all  manufacturers  do 
not  follow  this  rule  in  making  their  rings. 

51.  An  oval-shaped  ring  will  wear  the  walls  of 
the   cylinder   at   two   opposite    points    only, 
which  will  soon  conform  itself  more  or  less 

to  the  shape  of  the  ring. 

52.  Such  rings  also  fail  to  serve  their  purpose 
by  allowing  the  expansive  force  to  pass  the 
piston.     It   is  as   important   to   a  purchaser 
to  know  how  the  packing  rings  are  made  as 
to  know  that  the  journal  boxes  are  in  exact 
line  from  every  point  with  the  cylinder. 

53.  He  should  always  ask  an  agent  or  manu- 
facturer who  is  trying  to  sell  him  an  engine 
this  question:  How  are  piston  rings  made? 
And  if  they  do  not  make  a  plain  answer,  or 
if  they  seem  to  evade  the  question,  it  is  just 
as  well  for  the  purchaser  to  give  that  en- 
gine no  further  consideration.     Because  if  a 
manufacturer   is   careless   with   his   cylinder 
rings  and  journal  boxes  he  is  liable    to    be 
careless  with  every  part  of  his  engine. 

54.  The  cylinder  rings  and  journal  boxes  are 
not  the  only  safe  guides  to  a  purchaser.     As 
we  go  along  with  these  points  on  construc- 
tion you   will   see  that  the  purchaser     will 
find  many  things  to  open  his  eyes.     It  is  in- 
tended   to   make   this   little   book   the   pur- 
chaser's friend  as  well  as  the  men  who  have 
charge  of  an  engine.     If  the  purchaser  were 


20  THE   PRACTICAL   GAS   ENGINEER. 

more  exacting  in  his  requirements  the  manu- 
facturer would  build  him  a  better  engine, 
and  a  portion  of  the  gas  engine  trouble 
would  cease. 

55.  A   purchaser's   suspicion  may  be  aroused 
that  a  ring  is  not  properly  made  if  there  is  a 
coughing  noise  and  smoke  coming  out  of  the 
open  end  of  the  cylinder  at  each  explosion  of 
a  charge.    If  by  drawing  out  the  piston  he 
finds  the  rings  are  bearing  and  worn  only  at 
the  cut  and  at  a  point  opposite,  he  can  rest 
assured  that  the  rings  were  not  turned  after 
cutting.     But  the  ring  may  be  good  and  the 
cylinder  may  have  a  larger  bore  at  one  end 
than  at  the  other,  therefore  look  out  for  an 
imperfect  cylinder  as  well  as  imperfect  rings. 

56.  PITMAN   OR   CONNECTING  ROD— 
Very  few  gas  engine  builders  use  the  slides 
or  crosshead  guides  as  used  in    the    steam 
engines.    The   pitman   is   generally  connect- 
ed one  end  to  the    crank    shaft,    the    other 
direct   to   the   piston.     It   is    made    of   steel 
casting  or  steel  forging.     The  latter  is  less 
liable  to  defects,  and  therefore  more  desir- 
able. 

57.  It   should  be  centered,  turned   and  made 
as  light  as  possible,  with  ample  strength  to 
carry    the    power    transmitted    through    it. 
The  center  lines  of  the  crossheads  and  crank- 
pin  boxes,  which  are  usually  made  of  brass, 
should  be  at  exact  right  angles  to  the  center 
line  of  the  connecting  rod. 


THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  21 

58.  The  plan  of  attaching  the  crankpin  boxes 
to  the  connecting  rod,  by  means  of  two  steel 
bolts,  is  probably  the  most  convenient  and 
satisfactory     method     of     attaching     these 
boxes. 

59.  Owing  to  the   slight  motion   required   at 
the    wrist    many    builders    consider    a    sim- 
ple bushing  amply  sufficient,  although  some 
are   using  bearings   such   as   the   strap   and 
key  variety  or  one  similar  to  the  crankpin 
boxes. 

60.  CRANK     SHAFT.— The     question     of 
crank   shaft  construction   is   a  very  import- 
ant one.     The  center  line  of  the  crank  pin 
should  be   exactly   parallel   with   the   center 
line  of  the  crank  shaft.     The  least  variance 
from  this  necessarily  makes  a  bad  running 
engine. 

61.  I   have   found   crank   pins   in  boxes,  that 
were  constantly  running  hot,  not    only    out 
of  line  with  their  shaft,  but  also  of  differ- 
ent diameter  at  the  ends,    one    end    of    the 
pin  being  considerably  larger    in    diameter 
than  the  other.     One  or  the  other  of    the 
defects  here  mentioned  is  usually  the  cause 
of  a  constantly  HOT  RUNNING  crank  box. 

62.  Improper  lining    of    the    crank    with    the 
cylinder,  or  the  crank  pin  boxes  fastened  on 
the  connecting  rod  out  of  line,  are  faults  that 
should  not  be  overlooked. 

63.  The  arms  of  the  crank  shaft  should  be  of 
exactly  the  same  thickness,  so  as  to  bring 


22  THE  PRACTICAL   GAS    ENGINEER. 

the  crank  pin  in  such  a  position  that  the 
center  line  of  the  cylinder  will  divide  it  into 
two  exact  halves  in  every  part  of  the  entire 
length  of  its  stroke. 

64.  LENGTH      AND      DIAMETER       OF 
CRANK  PIN.— The  best  rule  to  follow  is  to 
make  the  working  area  of  the  crank  pin  so 
that  there  is  no  more  than  400  pounds  av- 
erage pressure  to  the  square  inch.    Whether 
you  secure  this  area  by  a  long  slim  pin  or  a 
short  thick  pin  does  not  matter  much,  pro- 
vided  extremes    are    avoided    and    journal 
boxes  are  of  suitable  length.     Builders  gen- 
erally  agree   that   the   diameter  of   the   pin 
should  be  from  1  to  Ij4  times  that  of  the 
shaft. 

65.  The  length   of  the   journal  boxes  should 
be  not  less  than  2^2  times  the  diameter  of 
the  shaft. 

66.  CRANK     SHAFT    DIAMETERS.— No 
uniform   rule   is   followed.     But  gas   engine 
crank  shaft  diameters  in  America  compare 
very  favorably  with  a  rule  based  upon  cylin- 
der diameter  and  maximum  pressure  within 
the  cylinder.     The  average  diameters  run  a 
little  "shy"  of  the  rule. 

67.  WEIGHT  AND  DIAMETER  OF  FLY 
WHEELS. — Very    much    depends    on    the 
speed  of  the  engine  as  to  weight  that  should 
be  carried.     At  a  medium  speed,  which  may 
be  based  on  about  225  revolutions  for  25  h. 
p.  to  375  for  a  2  h.  p.  single  cylinder  engine, 


THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  23 

one  hundred  pounds  to  the  horse  power  will 
not  be  very  far  out  of  the  way.  The  diam- 
eter may  range  from  28  in.  on  the  small  en- 
gine to  60  in.  on  the  larger  size.  The  weight 
above  referred  to,  of  course,  is  divided  be- 
tween the  two  wheels.  High  speed  automo- 
bile and  motor  boat  engines,  of  course,  carry 
a  much  lighter  wheel. 

68.  BALANCING  A  SINGLE  CYLINDER 
ENGINE.— This  is  a  subject  that  is  not  so 
easily  disposed  of  as  it  might  appear.  The 
majority  of  manufacturers  simply  use  a 
weight  in  the  rim  of  the  fly  wheels  directly 
opposite  the  arms  and  crank  pin  on  the  crank 
shaft,  or,  what  is  practically  the  same  thing, 
they  core  out  the  rim  at  a  point  directly  oppo- 
site from  that  where  the  weight  should  oth- 
erwise be. 

70.  Some   builders   think   the   crank   shaft   is 
the     proper    place    to    attach     the     balance 
weights. 

71.  Our  experience  with  the  different  meth- 
ods of  balancing  leads  us  to  favor  the  coun- 
ter weights  on  the  crank  shaft  arms,  either 
in  the  form  of  slotted  discs  with  the  weight 
in  the  proper  place,  or  in  the  shape  of  half- 
moon  weights. 

72.  These  weights  or  discs  are  secured  to  the 
crank    shaft  arms  by  means  of  suitable  bolts 
so   that   their   weight    hangs    opposite    the 
center   line  of  the   shaft  from   that  of  the 
crank  arms  and  crank  pin. 


24  THE  PRACTICAL  GAS    ENGINEER. 

73.  A  pump  or  an  air  compressor  in  connec- 
tion with  a  gas  engine  is  an  excellent  com- 
bination.    Unfortunately  not  every  one  who 
has  use  for  a  gas  engine  has  need  of  a  pump 
or   compressor.     But   you   can   "whack   the 
nail    squarely   on   the   head"   by   making    a 
double    cylinder    engine    with    one    cylinder 
on  each  end  of  the  engine  base  and  a  double 
throw  crank  shaft  in  the  center,  so  that  both 
pistons  move  away  from  and  towards  each 
other  at  the  same  time. 

74.  This  is  known    as    the    DOUBLE    OP- 
POSED engine  and  it  is  becoming  quite  a 
favorite  with  many  operators,  especially  for 
mounted  service  such  as  is  required  in  port- 
able traction,  motor  boat,  motor  truck  and 
railway  car  power  plants.     In   our  opinion 
the  single  cylinder  gas  engine  must  neces- 
sarily   lose    consideration  for  mounted  serv- 
ice  because    of    this      difficulty    in     secur- 
ing a  really  serviceable  and  reliable  balance 
that  will  effectively  overcome  the  vibrations 
due  to  the  quick  to-and-fro  movements  of  a 
single  heavy  piston,  connecting  rod  and  crank 
shaft.     The  double  opposed  engine  comes  in 
here  with  its  special  advantages  of  practical- 
ly a  perfect  balance,  light  in  weight,  and  with 
a  longitudinal,  instead  of  a  vertical  power 
thrust,  which  is  considered  by  many  opera- 
tors much  more  preferable,  because  of  the 
racking  vertical   vibrations   so  noticeable  in 
multiple  cylinder  vertical  engines  used  in  au- 


THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  25 

tomobiles  when  under  a  high  rate  of  speed. 
While  the  single  cylinder  engine  has  almost 
an  unlimited  field  of  usefulness  in  localized 
and  stationary  service  and  the  multiple  cyl- 
inder vertical  engine  will  rule  rapid  transit 
vehicles  where  the  maximum  power  with 
minimum  weight  is  the  principal  considera- 
tion, the  double  opposed  horizontal  engine 
may  claim  with  equal  propriety  the  inter- 
mediate field  between  localized  and  rapid 
transit  service. 

75.  VALVES.— The  ordinary  four-cycle    en- 
gine  usually  has  three  valves,  the  exhaust 
valve,  the  receiving  valve  and  the  fuel  valve. 
The  exhaust  and  receiving  valves  are  gen- 
erally placed  at   a    point    on    the    cylinder 
head   so  that  their  ports  lead   directly   into 
the   igniting  or  exploding  chamber.     These 
valves    are    usually    of  the  mushroom    type, 
and  are  operated  by  means  of  suitable  levers 
in  connection  with  the  cams  on  a  revolving 
side  rod,  or  by  a  punch  rod  from  a  cog  gear 
driven  by  the  crank  shaft. 

76.  As   to   the    manner    of    operating    these 
valves,  I  think  the  advantages  are  in.  favor 
of  the  side  rod  on  the  engines  of  the  single 
cylinder  horizontal  type  and  with  the  encased 
gear  and  cam  rod  mechanism  on  the  vertical 
type  of  engines. 

77.  The  principal   reason   for  this   distinction 
is  that  it  is  more  desirable  to  have  the  valve 
stem  work  in  a  vertical  or  upright  than  in 


26  THE  PRACTICAL   GAS   ENGINEER. 

a  horizontal  position.  If  a  valve  stem 
works  in  a  vertical  position  the  weight  of 
the  valve  brings  it  squarely  into  its  seat, 
and  the  wear  on  the  seat,  valve  and  stem  are 
likely  to  be  uniform  at  all  points.  But  if 
the  valve  is  so  placed  as  to  move  in  a  hori- 
zontal position  the  weight  of  the  valve  pal- 
let has  a  tendency  to  wear  the  stem  and 
seat  on  their  under  side  only,  and  therefore 
liable  to  soon  cause  trouble.  In  the  double 
opposed  and  multiple  cylinder  engines  the 
valve  pallets  are  much  lighter  in  their  con- 
struction and  their  weight,  carried  in  special 
sleeves  and  cages,  becomes  a  minor  consid- 
eration. 

78.  The  valve  chambers  or  cages  can  be  bolted 
to  a  horizontal  cylinder  in  a  vertical  posi- 
tion and  operated  by  suitable  levers  acted  on 
by  cams  on  the  side  rod.     While  on  the  ver- 
tical type  of  engine  the  valves  are  adjusted 
to  the  cylinder  in  a  vertical  manner  directly 
over  the  cam  shaft  or  gear,  which  operates 
them  with  a  direct  acting  mechanism. 

79.  You  will  notice,  I  say,  the  valve  chambers 
should  be  bolted  or  adjusted  to  the  cylinder. 
They  should  not  be  cast  on.     My  advice  to 
any   one   purchasing   is   to    shun   an   engine 
where  valve  chambers,  containing  the  valve 
seats,  can  not  be  replaced  by  new  ones.  Valve 
seats  are  liable  to  wear  out  and  crack  by  the 
continual  wear  and  high  heat  to  which  they 
are  subjected.     The  valve  pallet  and  its  seat 


THE   PRACTICAL   GAS   ENGINEER.  27 

should  also  be  in  such  a  position  as  to  be 
easy  of  access.  They  need  to  be  examined 
and  cleaned  occasionally.  The  cage  type  of 
valve  solves  the  difficulty. 

80.  The  exhaust  valve  on  large  engines  should 
be  watered,  otherwise  its  seat  and  pallet  is 
soon  liable  to  give  way  under  the  excessive 
heat.     The  cold  charges  entering  at  the  re- 
ceiving valve  serve  as  a  cooler  for  it. 

81.  A  valve  mechanism  may  be  so  designed 
as  to  use  alternately  either  gas  or  gasoline 
as  fuel,  but  not  both  at  the  same  time.      A 
valve  or  set  of  valves  may  be  arranged  so  as 
to  shut  off  one  and  turn  on  the  other,  thus 
changing  fuels  without  stopping  the  engine. 
This  is  resorted  to  in  such  instances  where 
kerosene  or  alcohol  is  the  running  fuel  and 
gasoline  the  starting  fuel  by   reason  of  its 
more  ready  vaporizing  quality. 

82.  The  blending  or    conjunctive  use  of  two 
distinct  fuels    is    another    proposition    alto- 
gether.    The   two   fuels    are   of   a   different 
chemical   composition,    and   the  blending  of 
their  elements  with  a  volume  of  air  so  as  to 
make  a  ready  explosive  would  be  extremely 
difficult,  and  therefore  impractical  to  attempt 
their  combination  or  use  in  conjunction  or  at 
the  same  time. 

83.  To  go  into  the  details  of  describing  the 
various    fuel   valve   mechanisms    now    used 
would  require  more  space  than  could  be  al- 
lowed   in    this    little    work.     Each    builder 


28       THE  PRACTICAL  GAS  ENGINEER. 

claims  some  superior  point  of  merit  in  his 
method  of  feeding  the  fuel,  but  it  should 
not  be  forgotten  that  other  reliable  builders 
may  have  other  points  as  good.  It  may  be 
sufficient  to  say  that  the  gas  valves,  and 
their  operating  mechanism,  are  generally 
so  arranged  as  to  open  the  valves  when  the 
outward  movement  of  the  piston  is  drawing 
a  current  of  air  into  the  cylinder,  and 
partly  by  the  force  of  the  gas  pressure  and 
partly  by  the  suction  produced  by  the  pis- 
ton the  gas  is  admitted  to  the  current  of 
.air  and  mixes  with  it  as  it  enters  the  cylin- 
der. 

84.  Gasoline  valves  and  carbureters  and  their 
methods  of  handling  fuel  are  a  little  more 
complicated,  but  in  most  cases  it  is  the  cur- 
rent of  air,  also,  by  its  suction  power,  that 
draws  sufficient  gasoline  from  a  needle  point 
or  atomizer  to    charge    the    air  current.     In 
some  instances  the  gasoline  is  forced  into  the 
air  current  by  means  of  a  small  pump.  Some 
kerosene  engines  take  a  charge  of  air  only, 
and   after   compressing   it,    the    kerosene   is 
sprayed  into  the  compression  space  and  im- 
mediately fired. 

85.  A  purchaser  needs  to  familiarize  himself 
with  the  function  of  the  gas  valve    or    car- 
bureter on  his  engine  and  its  method  of  feed- 
ing the  fuel.    It  requires  only  a  little  close 
attention  and  common    sense    to    learn    in 
half  on  hour  all  that  is  necessary  to  know 


THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  29 

about  the   feeding  and   regulating  the   fuel 
to  the  engine. 

86.  The  fuel  may  be  properly  fed  and  regu- 
lated,  and    yet    the    engine    refuse  to   go. 
Therefore  the  fellow  who  uses  common  sense 
enough  to  learn  the  proper  feeding  of  gaso- 
line or  fuel  will  get  into  trouble  if  he  con- 
cludes that  he  has  learned  it  all.    This  is  just 
the  position  in  which  I  have  found  many  a 
fellow.    And  this  brings  us  to  that  mechan- 
cal  part  of  the    engine  which    probably  is 
more  often  the   source  of  trouble  than  all 
others  combined,  and  that  is  the  IGNITING 
MECHANISM. 

87.  The  reader  is,  no  doubt  somewhat  familiar 
with  the  two  principal  methods  of  ignition, 
namely,    the  HOT  TUBE  and  the  ELEC- 
TRIC  SPARK  method.     The   fellow   with 
common   sense    about  getting    his   fuel   fed 
just  right  must  also  know  whether  he  has  a 
sufficient  spark  or  tube  hot  enough  to  fire 
the  charge  of  fuel.    HOT  TUBE  ignition  is 
nearly  a  thing  of  the  past. 

88.  In  the  electric  spark  method,  which  is  in 
greatest  favor  at  this  time,  it  is  necessary  to 
have  a  spark  of  sufficient  intensity  to  ignite 
the  charge,  and  it  must  be  made  at  just  the 
right  time. 

89.  There  are  two  kinds  of  spark  used  now, 
which  are  known  as  the  Contact  Spark  and 
the  Jump  Spark.  The  latter  is  used  more  par- 
ticularly in  high  speed  engines  or  automo- 


30  THE  PRACTICAL   GAS   ENGINEER. 

bile  work,  the  former  in  stationary  engines, 
to  which  we  especially  refer  in  the  first  half 
of  this  work. 

90.  The  contact  spark  is  made  by  starting   an 
electric  current  and  then  instantly  breaking 
it.    If  a  battery  or  other  source  of  electricity 
is  connected  up  properly  with  two  wires,  one 
end  of  each  wire    attached  to  the    battery, 
one  to  the  positive  and  the  other  to  the  nega- 
tive pole,  the  battery  remains  practically  in- 
active so  long  as  these  wires  do  not  come  in 
contact  with  each  other.     But  the  moment 
the  two  loose  ends  of  the  wires  are  brought 
in  contact  with  each  other  a  current  of  elec- 
tricity is  made  or  started  over  these  wires. 
Contact  of  the  terminals,  then,  is  known  as 
making  the  current.    The  parting  of  the  ter- 
minals is  breaking  the  current. 

91.  If  a  spark  coil  is  connected  into  this  cir- 
cuit, whenever  the  terminals  are  parted    an 
electric  spark  or  flash  is  made,  which  does 
the  igniting  of  the  charge.     The  terminals 
or  contact  making  points,  therefore,  are  not 
necessarily   the  ends  of  the  wires,  but  any 
piece  of  metal  to  which  the  ends  of  the  wires 
may  be  attached. 

92.  The  current  can  be  carried  any  reasonable 
distance  over  metal  that  is  a  good  conductor 
or   carrier   of   electricity.     Of   course,   it   is 
always  necessary  before  a  current  is  made 
that  there  is  a  contact  of  the  terminals  or 


THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  31 

a  connection  between  positive  and  negative 
poles. 

93.  The   electric  terminals  or   contact   points 
are,   therefore,   necessarily    in   the    igniting 
chamber  of  the  engine,  and  at  least  one  of 
them  must  be  insulated  from  that  part  of  the 
cylinder  wall  through  which  it  passes. 

94.  In  the  construction  of  the  sparking  appa- 
ratus I  think  it  is  best  to  use  platinum  for 
the  terminals  or  contact  points  on  account 
of  its  quality  to  withstand  a  high  degree  of 
heat,     although    some     manufacturers    use 
common  steel  or  gray  iron  points  with  a  view 
to  frequently  and  cheaply  renewing  them. 

95.  The  insulation  of  one  of  these  terminals 
should  be  complete,  practically  indestructible 
and  proof  against  heat  and  moisture. 

96.  The  best  material  for  insulating  purposes 
is  lava,  porcelain,  mica  and  glass.    If  melted 
or  fused  properly  around  the  terminal  sleeve 
I  regard  glass  much  better  than  the  others. 
A  successful  and  effective  insulation  may  be 
made  with  either    of  the    others,    although 
probably  not  as  durable. 

97.  The  mechanism  that  operates   the  movable 
point  or  terminal  should  be  so  designed  that 
the  contact  will  be  of  short  duration,  that 
the  break  or  separation  can  be  easily  timed 
so   as   to  make   the   spark   earlier   or   later, 
that  the  terminals  always  remain  separated 
between  the  act  of  sparking,  and  so  as  to 


32       THE  PRACTICAL  GAS  ENGINEER. 

make  a  contact  when  the  engine  receives  a 
charge. 

98.  The    movable    contact    point    should   ap- 
proach   the    stationary    gradually,    press    it 
firmly  and  separate  instantly.     This  is  known 
as   the   Touch   spark   or   Make    and    Break 
method.    A  wiping  spark  is  made  by  what  is 
known  as  a  wipe  contact,  which  is  used  by 
some  builders. 

99.  The  spark  is  indirectly  controlled  by    the 
governor   on     some    engines.      Usually    the 
governor   controls   the  exhaust  or   receiving 
valve  movement,  and  this  valve  movement  is 
made  to  incite  the  movement  of  the  sparking 
mechanism  only  when  a  charge  is  taken  into 
the  cylinder.     On  other  engines  no  attempt 
is  made  to  govern  the  number  of  sparks  at 
all,  but  a  regular  succession  of  sparks  occurs 
whether   the   governor   admits    a   charge   or 
not. 

100.  GOVERNORS.— There  are  a  number  of 
different   types   of   governors   in   use  among 
the  gas  engine  builders.     The  most  common 
are   the   fly    wheel    governor,    the   pendulum 
governor,   and    the   centrifugal   or  ball   gov- 
ernor.    The  latter  is  probably  the  most  pop- 
ular   and    effective.     However,    the    others 
operate  quite  satisfactorily. 

101.  No  governor  of  the  hit  and  miss  pattern 
should   act   sluggishly,  but   should   be   sensi- 
tive enough  to  avoid  two  charges  in  succes- 
sion when  the  engine  is  running  without  a 


THE   PRACTICAL   GAS   ENGINEER.  33 

load.  One  impulse  should  be  sufficient  to 
drive  the  engine  over  from  one  to  five 
misses,  owing  to  the  speed  of  the  engine. 
The  lower  the  speed  the  fewer  number  of 
impulses  allowed  by  the  governor  on  an 
empty  running  engine.  The  higher  the 
speed  the  more  impulses. 

A  governor  that  can  not  be  made  to  throw 
off  the  succeeding  charge  after  an  impulse 
on  an  empty  running  engine  should  be  re- 
jected. 

102.  To  be  more  explicit,  a  hit  and  miss  gov- 
ernor that  allows  an  empty  engine  two,  three, 
four  or  five  impulses  in  succession,  and  then 
throws  off  as  many  or  more,  certainly  can 
not  be  recommended  unless  it  can  be  adjusted 
to  do  its  work  properly. 

103.  A   good   governor   will   handle   an   empty 
engine  at,  say,  three  hundred  revolutions  per 
minute,  one  on  and  two  off.    In  other  words, 
one  impulse  and  two  or  three  idle  strokes. 
At  two  hundred  revolutions,  four  or  five  idle 
strokes  to  each  impulse. 

104.  Of  course,  you  understand  a  governqr  that 
operates  on  the  proportional  charge,  or  throt- 
tling plan,  allows  continuous  and  successive 
impulses,   light   or  heavy,   according  to   the 
load  on  the     engine,  by  throttling  the  mix- 
ture of  gas  and  air. 

105.  I  consider  the  throttling  governor  a  suc- 
cess.    It  is  generally  conceded  by  builders 
that  the  hit  and  miss  governor  is  the  most 


34  THE   PRACTICAL   GAS    ENGINEER. 

economical  in  fuel  consumption,  but  I  do 
not  regard  it  necessarily  so.  The  American 
inventor,  if  he  has  not  already  done  so,  will 
build  a  carbureter  that  will  admit  the  fuel  in 
such  exact  proportions  as  to  give  the  proper 
strength  to  the  impulses  to  carry  a  uniform 
speed  under  a  variable  load,  and  at  the 
same  time  use  only  the  amount  of  fuel  neces- 
sary, and  therefore  reduce  the  fuel  consump- 
tion to  the  minimum. 

106.  There  can  be  no  question  of  the  advantage 
the  throttling  governor  has  over  the  hit  and 
miss  governor  in  point  of  steady  power. 
The  principal  objection  to  the  hit  and  miss 
governor  is  the  variable  speed  it  imparts  to 
the  engine. 


PART   III. 


EQUIPMENT. 

107.  SETTING  THE  ENGINE.— Many  pur- 
chasers fail  with  the  gas  engine  because  of 
their  desire  to  install  it  with  the  least  ex- 
pense possible. 

108.  This  is  a  great  mistake.     After  buying  a 
gas  engine  one  should  go  to  the  expense  of 
installing  it  properly. 

109.  If  the  engine  is  stationary  it  should  have 
,a  tight  room,  all  to  itself,  free  from  dust  and 
with  plenty  of  light. 


THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  35 

110.  Too  frequently  we  find  purchasers  placing 
their  gas  engines  in  some  dark  corner  of  the 
building  or  in  some  old  damp  cellar  that  has 
been  abandoned  on  account  of  its  unfit  con- 
dition  to  be  used    for  any    other  purpose. 
They  argue  that  if  "I  can  use  it  for  my  en- 
gine I  save  space,  and,  therefore,  economize." 
This  is  surely  false  economy. 

111.  I  insist  that  if  the  purchaser  decides  to  use 
such  abandoned  space  in  which  to  locate  his 
engine  he  would  at  least  save  time  and 
money  by  going  to  the  expense  of  partition- 
ing the  space  off  into  a  room  large  enough 
for  the  engine,  and  keep    on  until    he  has 
transformed  his  engine  room  into  the  snug- 
gest, neatest,  cleanest  and  most  convenient 
spot  about  his  building,  and  then  see  that  it 
is  kept  in  that  condition.     Why  not?     The 
engine  is  surely  the  head  of  his  machinery 
plant,   from   which  he  expects  to   derive    a 
profit.     When  the  engine  stands  idle  all  his 
machinery  is  idle.     He  can  make  his  engine 
a  source  of  profit  or  loss  just  as  he  will  give 
it  good  or  bad  treatment. 

112.  THE  FOUNDATION  should  be  in 'keep- 
ing with  everything  that  is  good  and  sub- 
stantial.   Bolting  the  engine  fast  to  "any  old 
floor"   is    bad    practice.     But,    alas!     Gas 
Engines  are  advertised  to  set  anywhere,  on 
any  floor  or  in  any  cellar.     There  are  fool- 
ish advertisers  as  well  as  foolish  purchasers. 
A  careful  purchaser  will  not  buy  of  a  reck- 


36  THE  PRACTICAL   GAS   ENGINEER. 

less  or  careless  advertiser  who  makes  unrea- 
sonable or  extravagant  claims  for  his  engine. 

113.  I  would  have  every  gas  engine  purchaser 
figure  on  a  stone  or  brick  and  cement  foun- 
dation if  it  is  at  all  possible.     If    nothing 
but  a  floor  location  can  be  had  I  should  rec- 
ommend good  heavy  timbers  bolted  to  the 
floor,  of  sufficient  length  to  strengthen  the 
floor  for  a  considerable  distance  around   the 
engine,  then  bolt  the  engine  to  these  timbers. 

114.  The  only  object  in  a  foundation  is  a  solid 
setting  for  the  engine.     If  you  haven't  got  a 
solid  foundation  you  might  properly  say  you 
have  no  foundation.     A  good  engine  room 
and  a  good   foundation  is  an  excellent  be- 
ginning. 

115.  The  depth  of  the  foundation  below  grade 
line  depends  somewhat  on  the  condition  of 
the    soil.     It    should    always    go   below    the 
freezing  line  and  as  much  below  as  is  neces- 
sary to  get  a  firm  base.     Ordinarily    from 
three  to  four  feet  is  sufficient  for  small  en- 
gines   from    four   to  twelve    horse    power. 
Larger  sized  engines,  from  fifteen  to  forty 
horse  power,  from  four  to  six  feet  is  not 
too  much. 

116.  DIMENSIONS  OF  A  FOUNDATION. 
— A  good  rule  is  to  make  the  length  of  the 
foundation  in  the  bottom   twice  the  length 
of  the  engine  base.     The  width  in  the  bot- 
tom may  be  two    and  a    fourth    times    the 


THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  37 

width  of  the  engine  base.  The  foundation 
should  be  brought  up  on  a  batter  or  incline 
from  the  bottom  to  the  floor  line  or  level  of 
the  ground. 

117.  It  should  then  be  covered  with  a  capstone 
or  cement  block  from  eight  to  twelve  inches 
thick,   according  to  the  size  of  the   engine. 
The  foundation  may  be  capped  with  good, 
heavy  timber  where  a  stone  or  cement  are 
not  desirable.     You  understand,  of  course, 
that   it    is    always    desirable    to    have    the 
foundation  cap  or  timbers  from  two  to  six 
inches  wider  than  the  engine  base  and  from 
six  to  twelve  inches  longer,  so  that  when  the 
engine  is  placed  on  top  the  cap  extends  be- 
yond the  engine  base  from  one  to  three  inches 
on  each  side,  say  one    inch    for  a  4  horse 
power   and   three   inches   for   a   40   horse 
power. 

118.  The  height  of  the  foundation  or  top  of  the 
cap   above   the    ground   level  or    floor   line 
should  be  sufficient  to  clear  the  fly  wheels 
or  prevent  them  from  hanging  to  the  floor 
by  from  two  to  three  inches. 

119.  A   concrete    foundation,    if  properly   con- 
structed, is  the  best.     While  foundations  are 
sometimes   built   of   brick   or   stone   laid   in 
cement,  the  concrete  foundation  mixed  about 
as  follows,  is  now  the  custom:  One  part  of 
cement,  two  parts  sand,  and  five  parts  finely 
cracked  stone  or  coarse  gravel  is  first-class, 
foundations  built  with  frozen  mortar  or  con- 


38  THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER. 

crete  are  no  good.     Avoid  freezing  weather 
while  building  your  foundation. 

120.  ANCHOR    BOLTS.— The    number    and 
size   are  usually   determined  by  the  builder 
of  the  engine  and  indicated  by  the  holes  he 
drills  into  the  engine  base  to  receive  them. 
They  should  be  long  enough  to  extend  from 
the  bottom  of  the  foundation  to  from  two 
and  a  half  to  four  inches  above  the  cap  or 
timber. 

121.  They  should  be  screwed  into  a  good-sized 
iron  anchor  plate  at  the  bottom  and  threaded 
on  top  to  receive  a  nut.     An  anchor  plate 
six  to  eight  inches  wide  and  ten  to  fifteen 
inches  long,  with  a  hole  in  the  center  tapped 
or  threaded,  into  which  the  rod  is  screwed 
and  riveted,  makes  an  excellent  anchorage. 

122.  It  is  regarded  good  practice  when  setting 
the  anchor  bolts  before  building  the   foun- 
dation to  set  the  anchor  plates  on  small  base 
stone  or  solid    wooden    block    as   large  or 
larger  than  the  anchor  plate.     Also  to  slip 
a  piece  of  iron  pipe  (with  an  inside  diameter 
an  inch  larger  than  the  rod)  over  each  bolt. 
This   pipe   should   extend   from   the   anchor 
plate  to  the  top  •  of  the  foundation,  but  not 
to  the  top  of  the  rod. 

123.  A  TEMPLET  should  be  made  with  the 
holes  the  exact  diameter  of  the  rod,  and  dis- 
tances between  them  exactly  as  the  holes  in 
the  engine  base.     The  nuts  are  then  run  on 
to  the  top  of  each  bolt  down  far  enough  so 


THE  PRACTICAL  GAS  ENGINEER.  39 

as  to  let  about  two  inches  of  the  bolt  extend 
above  the  nut.  The  bolts  are  then  set  in 
position  and  stayed  at  the  top  by  slipping  the 
top  of  each  into  the  corresponding  hole  in 
the  templet,  the  nut  serving  as  a  rest  for  the 
templet.  Line  up  the  bolts  with  the  line 
shaft  or  building,  stay  the  templet  in  that 
position  and  proceed  to  build  the  foundation 
around  the  bolts. 

124.  After  the  foundation  is  complete  and  it  is 
determined  that  each  bolt  is  in  exact  position 
to  enter  the  corresponding  hole  in  the  engine 
base,  the  pipe  around  the  bolt  may  be  filled 
with  slush  cement,  which,  when  set,  will  stay 
the  bolts  firmly. 

125.  Three  or  four  days  after  the  foundation  is 
completed,   and   the  cement  firmly   set,    the 
engine  may  be  placed  in  position  and  bolted 
down  for  work. 

126.  LINING  UP  THE  ENGINE  with    the 
shaft,  and  vice  versa,  is  of  utmost  importance, 
and  it  should  be  done  just  right,  if  the  drive 
belt  is  expected  to  run   true  and  give    good 
service.     Therefore,  if  the  line  shaft  is  in 
position  it  is  well  to  take  the  precaution  to 
see  that  the  drive  pulley  on  the  engine  and 
the  driven  pulley  on  the  line  shaft  are  in  line 
before  bolting  down  the  engine. 

127.  This  is  done  by  stretching  a  line  from  rim 
to  rim  on  the  outer  edge  of  the  line  shaft 
pulley  and  extending  the  line  to  the  outer 
rim  and  across  it  on  the  engine  pulley.    This 


40  THE  PRACTICAL   GAS    ENGINEER. 

line  should  just  touch  the  two  opposite  points 
on  each  pulley. 

128.  A  better  way  to  line  the  engine  shaft  with 
the  line  shaft  as  follows :     Drop  two  lines 
from  the  same  edge  or  side  of  the  line  shaft 
as  far  apart  as  the  length  of  the  engine  shaft. 
Drop  the  weight  on  end  of  each  of  these  lines 
into  a  pail  of  water  on  the  floor  to  keep  them 
from    swinging.      Then   measure   with   tape 
line,  or  better,  with  pole,  from  each  line  to 
the  center  on  each  end  of  engine  shaft.  These 
distances  should  measure  exactly  alike. 

129.  PIPING   OR   CONNECTING   UP   AN 
ENGINE   consists   of   piping   up   the    fuel, 
piping  away  the  exhaust  and  piping  water 
to  and  from  the  engine,  if  water  is  used  for 
cooling  purposes,  and  it  is  more  commonly 
used  than  any  other  element  for  cooling  en- 
gines at  the  present  time. 

130.  In     making     the     WATER     CONNEC- 
TIONS pipe  of  the    size    indicated  by  the 
ports  in  the  water  jacket  should  be  used,  un- 
less hydrant  water  is  employed  under  pres- 
sure ;  then  smaller  pipe  may  be  used. 

131.  Valves   should   always   be   fitted   into  the 
pipe  line  so  as  to  allow  shutting  the  water 
off  for  drainage  purposes. 

132.  When  a  cooling  tank  is  used  the  valves 
should  be  as  near  the    tank  as  they    can  be 
placed,  so  that  the  pipes  leading  to  the  en- 
gine can  be  drained. 

133.  A  pipe  with  a    valve  and    union  should 


THE   PRACTICAL   GAS   ENGINEER.  41 

lead  from  the  lower  part  of  the  tank  to  the 
threaded  inlet  port,  somewhere  in  the  under 
part  of  the  water  jacket  of  the  engine,  and  a 
pipe  from  the  outlet  port  in  the  top  of  the 
cylinder  or  jacket  to  the  top  of  the  tank. 

134.  The  water  passes  from  the  tank  to  the  en- 
gine through  the  lower  pipe,  and  as  it  be- 
comes heated  it  raises  into  the  upper  pipe  and 
flows  back  into  the  top  of  the  tank. 

135.  This  is  known  as  the  Thermo-Syphon  sys- 
tem and  the  circulation  is  caused  by  one  of 
Nature's  laws.     Cold  water  is  heavier  than 
hot  water,  and  as  the  cylinder  heats  the  water 
it  gets   lighter  and    the    cold    and    heavier 
water  naturally  crowds  in  below  and  forces 
the  heated  water  through  the  upper  pipe  to 
the  tank.  Therefore  the  hottest  water  is  al- 
ways at  the  top  of  the  tank,  and  the  cold  and 
heavier  at  the  bottom. 

136.  PIPE  CONNECTIONS  FOR  THE  USE 
OF  HYDRANT  WATER  are  as  follows: 
The  inlet  pipe  from  the  hydrant  to  the  same 
point  on  the  engine  as  in  the  tank  system, 
with  valve  and  union  to  guard  against  freez- 
ing by  draining  the  cylinder  and  pipes    at- 
tached. 

137.  The  overflow    pipe  from    the  top    of  the 
cylinder  should  be  led  into  a  waste  trough 
or  pipe  somewhere  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
expose  to  view  the  stream  of  water  leaving 
the  engine. 

138.  The  pressure  from  a  hydrant  is  often  suf- 


42  THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER. 

ficient  to  force  too  much  cold  water  through 
the  water  chamber,  keeping  the  cylinder  too 
cool  and  resulting  in  a  loss  of  power.  The 
valve  in  the  inlet  pipe  should  be  used  to 
throttle  the  stream  to  the  engine. 

139.  Where  a  very  limited  quantity  of  water 
only  can  be  allowed,  as  in  portable  engines  or 
automobiles,  a  circulating  pump  and  fan  are 
sometimes  used.  By  means  of  radiating 
spines,  either  cast  onto  and  around  the  cylin- 
der, or  bronze  radiating  fins  bolted  circum- 
ferential to  it,  THE  AIR  COOLING  SYS- 
TEM has  been  successfully  applied  in  sta- 
tionary, portable,  automobile  and  motor- 
cycle engines. 

By  reason  of  especially  designed  arrange- 
ments whereby  a  rapid  circulation  of  an  air 
current  is  made  to  pass  directly  about  the 
hottest  portion  of  the  cylinder  or  cylinders, 
air  cooled  engines  are  now  performing  suc- 
cessfully, even  in  stationary  work  of  excep- 
tional severity,  which  was  formerly  regarded 
impossible. 

The  motorcycle  motor,  by  reason  of  its 
exposed  position,  rapid  forward  motion 
while  in  operation,  and  limited  installation 
space,  is  not  supplied  with  the  blast  from  a 
rotating  fan,  which  is  such  an  important 
factor  in  the  establishment  of  the  success- 
ful stationary  engine.  It,  however,  is 
equipped  with  the  radiating  spines  and  is 


THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  43 

of  the  simplest  type  of  air-cooled  gasoline 
motor. 

It  is  quite  important  that  an  operator  of 
an  air-cooled  motor,  whether  of  the  automo- 
'  bile  or  stationary  type,  should  thoroughly  ac- 
quaint himself  with  the  means  provided  for 
cooling  and  then  make  it  his  purpose  to  keep 
the  cooling  equipment  in  the  highest  state  of 
mechanical  adjustment  and  efficiency. 

For  instance,  if  a  belt-driven  fan  is  de- 
signed to  keep  up  a  rapid  circulation  of  an 
air  current  about  the  radiating  spines,  the 
engine  can  not  be  expected  to  succeed  un- 
der constant  and  heavy  duty  with  a  loose 
fan  belt,  or  with  the  belt  thrown.  Neither 
could  the  engine  be  expected  to  give  its 
best  service  in  a  closed,  hot  room,  even 
with  the  fan  under  full  duty,  if  the  fan 
could  get  its  supply  and  deliver  only  the 
hot  air  in  the  room  to  the  engine. 

The  operator  should  size  up  environments 
and  conditions  and  then  arrange  to  give  his 
engine  the  advantage  of  the  best  cooling  priv- 
ileges that  the  circumstances  will  permit  of. 
By  a  careful  understanding  of  his  air-jcooling 
system  and  by  its  proper  application  he  will 
succeed  with  his  engine  with  much  less  equip- 
ment than  is  required  by  the  water-cooled 
system. 

140.  PIPE  CONNECTIONS  FOR  FUEL  IN 
A  GAS  ENGINE  are:  Regulator,  gas  bag, 
valve  or  stop  cock  and  piping  of  the  proper 


44  THE   PRACTICAL   GAS    ENGINEER. 

size  to  meet  the  requirements    of    the  en- 
gine. 

141.  Where  natural  gas  is  used  for  fuel  it  is 
always  desirable  to    use  a    REGULATOR. 
However,  we  find  purchasers  who  prefer  to 
run  their  chances    of    having  all    kinds  of 
trouble  with  their  engine,  which  a  gas  regu- 
lator would  obviate,  rather  than  go  to  the 
expense  of  putting  in  a  gas  regulator.     It  is 
needed  where  gas  pressure  is  liable  to  vary. 

142.  Either  the  gasometer  or  one  of  the  many 
diaphragm  and  valve  regulators  may  be  used 
successfully,  provided  they  allow  a  sufficient 
volume  of  gas  at  low  pressure,  say,  for  in- 
stance,   not   to   exceed   eight  ounces   to   the 
square  inch. 

143.  The  stop-cock,  gas  bag  and  regulator  are 
connected  into  the  pipe  from  the  engine  out- 
ward in  the  order  just  named.    First,  a  short 
nipple  of  pipe,  say  from  four  to  six  inches 
long,  is  screwed  into  the  inlet  port  on  the 
engine,  onto  it  the  stop-cock,    then    another 
piece  of  pipe  to  bring  the  gas  bag  at  some 
convenient  and  suitable  point,  then  the  gas 
bag  (and  it  is  better  to  have  it  within  two  or 
three  feet  of  the  engine),  then  more  pipe  and 
finally  the  regulator. 

144.  The  GAS  BAG  may  be  a  good  rubber  bag 
made   completely   of   rubber,   or   it   may  be 
made  of  an  iron  frame    with    rubber    dia- 
phragm, such  as  some  engine  builders  use. 

145.  When  gasoline  is  the  fuel  there  are  two 


THE   PRACTICAL   GAS   ENGINEER.  45 

common  methods  in  use  for  bringing  the 
gasoline  to  the  engine,  namely,  the  Pump 
and  Gravity  Systems.  The  GRAVITY  SYS- 
TEM consists  of  piping  the  elevated  supply 
tank  to  the  engine  and  letting  the  gasoline 
into  the  engine  through  suitable  valves.  In 
this  method  gasoline  is  supplied  to  the  engine 
by  its  own  weight  or  gravity. 

146.  FITTINGS  FOR  GRAVITY  METHOD. 
— If  the  gravity  method  is  used,  there  is  an 
admission   valve   on   the    engine,    reinforced 
usually  by  a  needle  valve.     The  supply  pipe, 
including  globe  valve,  is  connected  from  the 
inlet  port  on  these  valves  to  the  supply  tank, 
which  is  elevated  four  or  five  feet  above  the 
engine  and  placed  somewhere  on  a  shelf  on 
the  walls  of  the  building  or  some   suitable 
place   outside.     The   globe   valve   should   be 
placed   near   the   admission   valve    so   as   to 
doubly  insure  the  complete  shutting  off  of  the 
gasoline  from  the  engine  when  not  in  use. 

147.  The  arrangement  of  THE  PUMP  SYS- 
TEM consists  of  a  small  pump  fitted  to  the 
engine  which  is  designed  to  be  piped  to  the 
supply  tank  outside  of  the  building,  and  to 
draw  the  gasoline  from  the  tank  and  force 
it  into  the  Mixer  of  the  engine  as  it  needs  it. 

148.  The  supply  tank  in  this  instance  is  located 
somewhere  from  three  to  six  feet  below  the 
engine,  and  an  overflow  pipe  is  connected  to 
it  from  the  engine  for  the  purpose  of  return- 


46  THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER. 

ing  to  the  tank  any  oversupply  that  may  be 
forced  up  by  the  pump. 

149.  There   is   a  pipe   connection  between  the 
lower  part  of  the  supply  tank  and  the  suction 
port  or  valve  on  the  pump,  and  an  overflow 
pipe  from  the  mixing  or  supply  cup  on  the 
engine  to  the  top  of  the  tank.     The  tank  is 
so  placed  as  to  allow  drainage  of  all  the  gas- 
oline in  the  pipes,  back  to  the  tank  when  the 
engine  is  not  in  use. 

150.  From  %   to   l/2    inch  pipe  is    used  ordi- 
narily, according  to  the  size  of  the  engine. 

151.  Fire    Insurance     Companies   require    the 
pump  system,  with  the  tank  placed  a  certain 
distance  away  from  the  building.     But  the 
gravity  method  is  just  as  effective  in  supply- 
ing the  engine  with  fuel    and    has  the  ad- 
vantage  of   less   mechanism   to  get   out   of 
order.     Of  course,  good  threaded  pipes  and 
absolutely  tight  joints  should  be  insisted  on 
in  these  pipe  connections  for  gasoline. 

152.  EXHAUST      CONNECTIONS.— When 
an  engine  is  installed  in  a  building,  the  real 
object  of  exhaust  pipe  connections  is  to  get 
the  burnt  gases  and  the  noise  from  the  ex- 
haust outside  of  the  building.    And  inasmuch 
as  the  noise  is  very  undesirable  in  many  lo- 
calities, it  is  the  custom  of  nearly  all  engine 
builders  to  supply,  with  their  engines,  a  large 
iron  Drum,  into  which  the  pipe  from  the  en- 
gine  is  connected  and    which    serves   as  a 
muffler  to  the  exhaust  reports. 


THE  PRACTICAL  GAS  ENGINEER.  47 

153.  MUFFLERS  of  different  kinds  are  used 
on  portable  and  automobile  engines.     They 
are  usually  arranged  to  screw  onto  the  end 
of  the  exhaust  pipe  and  consist  of  an  iron 
casing,  enclosing  a  series  of  small  cavities, 
which  are  freely  connected  with  the  inlet  and 
also  with  the  many  small    openings    which 
serve  as  an  outlet.     The    object  in    such  a 
muffler  is  to  break  the  force  of  the  exhaust 
pressure  and  let  it  into  the  open  air  through 
many  small  openings. 

154.  PIPING    THE    EXHAUST    INTO    A 
FLUE  OR  CHIMNEY  OF  A  BUILDING. 
— There   may   be    very    serious    objections 
urged  against  this  practice.     Unless  the  flue 

•  has  a  large  caliber,  with  a  good  draught,  it 
should  not  be  considered  at  all. 

155.  There  is  always  more  or  less  experiment- 
ing necessary  where  an  inexperienced  hand 
is  learning  to  run  a  gas  engine.    And  he  may 
turn  the  engine  over,  admitting  charges  and 
forcing  them  out  of  the  exhaust  pipe  into  the 
flue  a  number  of  times  before  igniting  one  of 
them,  and  when  the  ignition  does  occur  the 
flue  is  charged  with  gas,  which  lets  go  with 
such  force  as  to  wreck  the  flue  and  sometimes 
the  building. 

156.  The  sooner  gas  engine  builders  and  pur- 
chasers get  the  idea  out  of  their  heads   that 
"any  old  thing"  is  good  enough,  the  better 
it  will  be  for  every  one  concerned. 

157.  Piping  the  exhaust  into  a  well  or  cistern, 


48  THE  PRACTICAL   GAS   ENGINEER. 

if  properly  done,  is  all  right.  I  should  sug- 
gest, however,  in  such  instances,  that  before 
it  is  done  it  is  known  that  the  water  never 
rises  to  a  point  to  interfere  with  the  exhaust. 

158.  In  fact,  to  be  on  the  safe  side,  the  entire 
space  in  the  cistern  or  well  should  be  free 
from  water  at  all  times.     A  good  tight  ce- 
ment covering  with  a  good  sized  vent  should 
be  arranged. 

159.  A  box  two  by  two  by  four  feet,  buried  in 
the  ground   endwise  and    filled  with    clean 
pebbles  or  stones  in  sizes  from  that  of  a  hen's 
egg  to  that  of  a    man's  fist,  makes    an  ex- 
cellent muffler  for  an  engine  up  to  25  h.  p. 
The  exhaust  pipe  should,  of  course,  be  led 
into  the  lower  part  of  this  muffler  and  water 
excluded  at  all  times. 

160.  A  box  two  feet  square  inside,  ten  feet  long, 
made  of  heavy    (two  inch)    plank,   without 
bottom,  buried  in  the  ground,  and  the  ex- 
haust from  the  engine  piped  into  one  end, 
and  a  short  pipe  from  the  other  end  as  a  vent, 
makes  a  very  effective  muffler.     No  stone  is 
used  in  this  box — just  the  hollow  in  the  box 
with  ground  floor.    The  entire  box  should  be 
buried  to  a  depth  of  two  feet. 

161.  The    exhaust    connections    are    simply    a 
pipe  of  the  proper  size  leading  from  the  ex- 
haust valve  port  to  the  exhaust  drum  and 
from  another  port  in  the  drum  to  the  out- 
side of  the  building,  or  underground  muffler, 
if  one  is  used,  and  thence  to  the  outside. 


THE   PRACTICAL   GAS   ENGINEER.  49 

162.  It  is  well  to  place  the  exhaust  drum  as 
near  to  the  engine  as  possible  and  get  to  the 
outside  of  the  building  by  the  shortest  con- 
venient route.     Long  exhaust  pipes  have  no 
tendency  to  improve  the  running  qualities  of 
the  engine. 

163.  The  end  of  the  exhaust  pipe  should  be  left 
free  and  open,  where  an  exhaust  drum  is 
used,   except  that  it  is   good   practice  to 
screw  a  "T"  onto  the  end  of  the  pipe  and  a 
short   nipple   into   each   end   of  this   "T," 
which  serves  the  double    purpose    of    pro- 
tecting the  pipe  from  snow,  rain  and  ice, 
and  relieves  the  exhaust  by  two  openings, 
instead  of  one. 

164.  For  the  purpose  of  explaining  more  fully, 
I   wish   to    modify   my    previous   statement 
against  the  use  of  long  exhaust  pipes.     The 
advice  is  proper  with  practically  all  engines 
built  in  this  country  up  to  the  present  time. 

165.  SCAVENGING      ENGINES.— Plausible 
claims  are  made  for  the  scavenging  engines, 
some  of  which  are  coming  into  use.     The 
object  of  scavenging  is  to  free  the  clearance 
space   or   combusition   chamber   from  'burnt 
gases  each  time  before  another  fresh  charge 
is  admitted. 

166.  It  is   recommended  that  an  exhaust  pipe 
of    sufficient    length    and    proportions    will 
cause  a  succession  of  waves  in  the  outward 
rush  of  the  exhaust    gases,    which  tend  to 
create   a  partial   vacuum    in   the    clearance 


SO  THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER. 

space,  and  thereby  practically  free  it  from 
burnt  gases.  I  will  not  go  into  detail  of  the 
scavenging  engine,  as  practically  all  of  small- 
er power  are  non-scavenging  up  to  the  pres- 
ent time,  and  there  is  no  indication  of  the 
scavengers  coming  into  immediate  use,  in 
America  at  least. 

167.  TUBE  IGNITOR.— The  tube  ignitor  con- 
sists of  a  TUBE  closed  at  one  end  and 
threaded  and  open  at  the  other,  a  cast  iron 
chimney,  a  gas  or  gasoline  burner,  pipe  con- 
nections from  the  gas  supply  to  the  burner 
or  to  a  small  gasoline  supply  tank  elevated 
five  or  six  feet. 

169.  The  tube   is  anywhere  from  5   inches  to 
12  inches  long  and  from  ^  to  %  inch  in 
diameter.     It  is  made  either  of  common  gas 
pipe  or  nickel  alloy,  sometimes  called  com- 
position tubing.    The  threaded  and  open  end 
of  the  tube  is  screwed  into  an  opening  which 
communicates  with  the  interior  of  the  cyl- 
inder or  firing  chamber.    This  makes  a  con- 
tinuous passage  from  the  combustion  cham- 
ber up  in  the  hollow  of  the  tube  to  its  closed 
end. 

170.  It  is  intended  to  keep  this  tube  at  a  red 
heat  while  the  engine  is  running.  This  is  done 
by  means  of  the  cast  iron  chimney,  which  is 
fitted  on  so  as  to  entirely  enclose  this  tube, 
and  a  burner  fitted  into  the  lower  part  of 
this  chimney  so  as  to  direct  a  jet  or  Bunsen 
flame  against  the  lower  end  of  the  tube. 


THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  51 

171.  The  top  of  the  chimney  may  be  capped 
with  numerous  small  vent  holes  in  the  cap. 
The  inside  of  the  chimney  is  lined  with  as- 
bestos sheet,  the  object  of  which  is  to  retain 
the  heat  and  confine  the  flame  immediately 
around  the  tube  as  much  as  possible. 

172.  The  burner  should  be  so  constructed  as  to 
deliver  a  bright  blue  flame  around  the  tube, 
which  should  become  heated  to  a  cherry  red 
heat  in  from  three  to  five  minutes  after  it  is 
lighted.    The  burner  is  usually  fitted  with  a 
valve  with  which  to  control  the  flame,  but 
the  pipe  connections  from  the  burner  to  the 
gasoline   supply  tank  or  to  the   gas   supply 
should  contain  a  valve  as  a  means  of  shutting 
off  the  full  supply  from  the  burner  when  the 
engine  is  not  in  use. 

173.  The  object  in  elevating  the  gasoline  supply 
tank  is  to  give  sufficient  pressure  at  the  burn- 
er or  generator  to  throw  the  jet  of  gas  with 
some  force  against  the  tube. 

174.  The  point  in  the    length    of  the    tube  at 
which  the  flame  should  be  directed  depends 
on  the  compression  pressure  in  the  cylinder. 
If  there  is  a  high  compression  pressure  the 
firing  point  on  the  tube  should  be  naturally 
higher  up  because  the  fresh  charge   forces 
its  way  higher  up  into  the  tube  on  a  high 
than  on  a  low  compression. 

175.  You  understand  that  the  tube  always  re- 
mains filled  with  burnt  gases  when  the  ordi- 
nary tube  igniting  engine  exhausts  the  burnt 


52  THE   PRACTICAL   GAS    ENGINEER. 

charge.  The  fresh  charge  then  has  to  crowd 
up  against  this  burnt  gas  in  the  tube,  which 
serves  as  a  cushion,  and  drives  it  into  the 
upper  part  of  the  tube  until  the  fresh  gas 
meets  the  red  hot  part  of  the  tube,  when  igni- 
tion occurs.  You  will  therefore  see  that  if 
the  compression  in  an  engine  is  light  it  can 
not  force  the  fresh  charge  as  high  into  the 
tube,  and  consequently  the  tube  should  be 
heated  lower  down. 

176.  Some  builders  are  now  making  adjustable 
chimneys,  to  which  the  burner  is  fastened, 
which  can  be  moved  up  or  down  and  fixed 
so  as  to  direct  the  flame  against  any  point 
on  the  tube  to  suit  the  compression. 

177.  What  would  I  do  if  I  had  an  engine  with 
a  fixed  flame  point?     I  should  try  tubes  of 
different  lengths   until   one  was   found  that 
gave  the  best  results.     If  pre-ignition  occurs 
it  may  not  be  possible  to  correct  the  trouble 
by  changing  the    length    of  the    tube,  and 
something  must  be  devised  to  raise  the  flame 
point  higher  on  the  tube. 

178.  ELECTRIC  IGNITOR.— The  electric  ig- 
niting outfit  for  make  and  break  ignition 
consists  of  a  spark  coil,  a  current  breaker 
or  switch,  from  fifteen  to  forty  feet  of  insu- 
lated copper  wire,  about  No.  14,  a  battery 
or  small  dynamo  or  magneto  which  gen- 
erates the  current,  and  the  sparking  mech- 
anism on  the  engine,    which    has    already 
been  described. 


THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  53 

179.  THE  SPARK  COIL  is  a  bundle  of  soft 
Iron    Wires,  cut  all  the  same  length,  any- 
where  from   five  to  ten  inches   long.     The 
ends  of  this  bundle  of   wires   are   inserted 
into  a  round  hole,  in  a  small  block  of  wood, 
of  just  the  exact  size  to  receive  all  the  wires 
and  hold  them  firmly  together  in  the  shape 
of  a  round  bundle. 

180.  This  bundle  between  the  blocks  of  wood  is 
covered  with  a  sheath  of  pasteboard,  around 
which  is  wrapped  closely  and  evenly  from 
end  to  end,  between  the  blocks,   successive 
layers  of  one  continuous  piece  of  insulated 
wire.     The  two  ends  of  this  insulated  wire 
are  fastened  to  separate  binding  posts,  which 
are  mounted  on  one  end  of  the  blocks.    These 
blocks   are  then   screwed   firmly  to  a   small 
baseboard,  so  as  to  hold  all  parts  of  the  coil 
firmly  in  position. 

181.  It  serves  the  purpose  of  resistance  to  the 
current  and  the  storage  of  magnetic  force  in 
the  core  of  wire,  without  which  an  igniting 
spark  can  not  be  made.    This  refers  only  to 
the  common  make-and-break  coil. 

182.  If  the  length  of  insulated  wire  is  properly 
proportioned  to  the  bundle  of  soft  wire,  the 
coil  also  serves  to  allow  a  shorter  contact 
of  the  terminal  points,  which  in  turn  prevents 
waste   of  current   and   wear  of  the  points, 
which  are  both  items  of  considerable  expense 
if  not  carefully  guarded.     A  short  coil  four 
to  six  inches  long  meets  all  the  requirements. 


54  THE  PRACTICAL   GAS    ENGINEER. 

183.  A  SWITCH  may  be  simply  a  block  of 
wood,  porcelain  or  hard  rubber  mounted  with 
two  binding  posts   and  a   connecting  lever, 
which  is  permanently  connected  to  one  bind- 
ing post  and  may  be  connected  or  discon- 
nected with  the  other  binding  post  at  will. 

184.  Its  purpose  is  to  switch  the  current  on  to 
the  engine  for  work  or  to  cut  it  out  and  in- 
sure against  short  circuit  when  the  engine  is 
not  in  use. 

185.  ELECTRIC  CONNECTIONS  TO  THE 
SPARKING  DEVICE  ON  THE  ENGINE. 
— One  end  of  the  wire  which  is  to  carry  the 
current  should  be  connected  to  the  binding 
post  on  the  insulated  terminal  or  electrode; 
the  other  wire  is  attached  to  the  other  bind- 
ing post,  which  is  usually  placed  at  some  con- 
venient point  on  the  engine  by  the  builders. 

186.  If  there  is  but  one  binding  post  supplied 
on  the  engine,  then  the  second  wire  may  be 
attached  firmly  to  any  bright  point  on  the 
engine  which  is  convenient,  or  it  may  even  be 
fastened  around  one  of  the  gasoline  or  water 
pipes  if  they  are  not  painted. 

187.  The  insulation  must  always  be  stripped  off 
of  the  end  that  is  to  be  fastened  and  the  con- 
nection made  with  the  bare  end  of  the  wires. 

188.  The  wire  from  the  insulated  terminal  bind- 
ing post  is  then  carried  to  the  spark  coil  and 
connected  to  one  of  its  binding  posts.    From 
the  other  binding  post  on  the  spark  coil  a 
piece  of  wire  is  carried  to  the  first  cell  of  the 


THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  55 

battery  and  connected  to  its  positive  or  car- 
bon binding  post  or  to  the  same  on  dynamo 
or  magneto. 

189.  This  makes  one  connection  between  the  en- 
gine and  the  battery  or  magneto,  whichever 
is  used  for  ignition  purposes. 

190.  Another  wire  is  carried  from  the  negative 
point  on  dynamo,  or  zinc  binding  post  on  bat- 
tery, to  one  of  the  switch  binding  posts,  and 
from  the  other  switch  binding  post  to  the  en- 
gine.    The  switch  may  be  fastened  at  some 
convenient  place  on  the  wall. 

191.  The  two  wires  from  the  battery  or  dynamo 
to  the  engine,  one  containing  the  coil  and  the 
other  the  switch,  completes  the  circuit. 

192.  IN  CONNECTING  THE  BATTERY  all 
the  cells  between  the  first  and  last  must  be 
connected  up  in  a  series  with  short  pieces  of 
insulated  wire,  as   follows:    From  the  zinc 
binding  post  on  the  first  cell  to  the  copper- 
oxide  binding  post  on  the  second ;  from  zinc 
on  second  to  copper  on  third,  and  so  on  until 
all  are  connected. 

193.  If  a  FLUID  CELL  BATTERY  is  used  it 
must  be  charged,  which  consists  of  first  mak- 
ing a  solution  with  the  chemical  used  for  that 
purpose  and  soft  water.     After  each  cell  is 
nearly  filled  with  this  solution  the  metal  bases, 
such  as  zinc  and  carbon,  which  are  usually  at- 
tached to  the  lid  of  the  cell,  are  lowered  into 
the  solution  in  the  cell.    Then  it  is  ready  to 
be  connected  up  in  the  series.    All  fluid  bat- 


56  THE  PRACTICAL  GAS    ENGINEER. 

teries    are     accompanied      with    instruction 
sheets. 

194.  With   stationary  engines  it  has  been   the 
custom  to  use  fluid  batteries,  but  many  DRY 
CELL  batteries  have  been  introduced,  which 
serve  successfully  and  are  formidable  rivals 
of  the  fluid  cell. 

195.  There  are  also  the  little  SPARKING  DY- 
NAMO and  MAGNETO,  which  are  success- 
fully used  in  many  instances  for  stationary 
gas  engine  ignition.     Also  the  HOT  TUBE, 
previously  described. 

196.  There  are  so  many  points  to  be  considered 
in  this  connection  that  it  would  not  be  fair 
to  our  readers  to  attempt  to  recommend  either 
device  above  the  other. 

197.  The  ignition  of  a  gas  engine  is  a  source  of 
repair  expense,   no   matter   what   source  of 
electrical  energy  is  used.     Each  arrangement 
has  its  disadvantages  as  well  as  its  advan- 
tages.     Economy,    safety,    attention,    conve- 
nience, cleanliness  and  reliability  are  the  prin- 
cipal points  to  be  considered. 

198.  The     location     and     surroundings     would 
probably  determine  my  preference.     For  in- 
stance, in  the  natural  gas  field,  where  fuel  is 
very  cheap,  I  might  decide  on  the  hot  tube 
ignition.     Away  off  in   the  country,   where 
gasoline  is  the  fuel  and  somewhat  expensive, 
I  think  a  good  dry  cell  battery  would  about 
meet  the  conditions.    In  the  city,  where  elec- 
tricians are  to  be  easily  had  when  repairs  are 


THE   PRACTICAL   GAS   ENGINEER.  57 

necessary,  the  magneto  or  dynamo  would,  in 
my  opinion,  more  nearly  meet  the  require- 
ments. The  fluid  cell  is  a  sort  of  mother  over 
all  the  others  because  it  was  the  original  and 
has  been  most  generally  employed  in  this 
country  for  stationary  gas  engine  ignition. 

199.  By  the  foregoing  statement  I  do  not  mean 
to  convey  the  idea  that  the  fluid  battery  is 
more  desirable  than  others,  only  that  it  holds 
sort  of  a  pre-empted  claim  now  by  reason  of 
having  been  more  generally  used  in  the  past. 

200.  I  wish  to  make  this  assertion,  that  I  can 
operate  a  gas  engine  successfully  on  either 
method  of  ignition  anywhere,  with  economy 
possibly  in  favor  of  the  magneto  if  it  is  well 
constructed,  but  it  may  require  more  atten- 
tion than  the  battery.     (See  special  chapter 
on  Dynamo  and  Magneto  Ignition.) 

201.  Either  method,  as  before  stated,  has  its  ad- 
vantages and  disadvantages,  and  my  advice 
to  my  readers  is  that,  whichever  method  you 
may  be  called  upon  to  use,  inform  yourselves 
as  quickly  as  possible  on  its  disadvantages, 
and  overcome  them  as  nearly  as  possible. 

202.  I  doubt  not  that  the  reader  now  thinks  we 
have  reached  the  point  of  starting  the  engine 
and  is  anxious  uto  see  the  wheels  go  round/' 
But  you  will  be  more  highly  delighted  in  see- 
ing them  turn  if  you  have  first  learned  and 
attended  to  all  the  preliminaries.    A  good  en-, 
gineer  never  omits  one  of  them ;  a  bungler 
overlooks  all  of  them. 


58  THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER. 

203.  These  PRELIMINARIES  are  AR- 
RANGEMENT,    CLEANLINESS,     WA- 
TER, OILING.    Under  arrangement  comes 
the  old  adage,  "A  place  for  everything  and 
everything  in  its  place."     The  condition  of 
the  engine  room  portrays  the  character  of  the 
person  in  charge.  A  BAD  RUNNING  EN- 
GINE,  waste,   wrenches,  oil   cans,   litter  in 
general  scattered  promiscuously  over  the  floor 
of  the  engine  room  indicates  a  bungler  not 
worthy  the  name  of  engineer. 

204.  An  engine  room  with  plenty  of  light, 
everything  in  apple-pie  order,  trim,  clean 
and  neat,  means  a  nice  running  engine  and 
a  For-Sure  Engineer. 

205.  Cleanliness  contributes  so  much  to  the  suc- 
cessful running  of  an  engine  that  it  can  not 
be   TOO   FIRMLY   IMPRESSED   on   the 
mind.      The    companion    of    cleanliness    is 
PLENTY  OF  LIGHT.     Darkness  and  dirt 
go  hand  in  hand. 

206.  Therefore,  with  plenty  of  light  in  the  en-  , 
gine  room  it  should  be  cleaned  up  and  made 
as  free  as  possible  from  dust  and  grit.    After 
this  the  engine  should  be  thoroughly  cleaned 
all  over,  giving  special  attention  to  the  Cog 
or  Spiral  Gears,  governor,  valve  stems  and 
valve  cams.     On  account  of  dampness  these 
working  parts  often  become  rusted  in  ship- 
ment,   and    will    not    work    properly    until 
cleaned. 

207.  The  water  supply  should  be  noticed  to  see 


THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  59 

if  the  tank  is  full  to  the  overflow  pipe,  and  in 
cold  weather  to  see  that  none  of  the  pipes  are 
frozen  up. 

208.  Then  comes  the  oiling  of  the  engine,  which 
should  be  done  in  a  thorough  manner.    Use 
ordinary  machine  oil  on  the  various  parts  of 
the   engine,   EXCEPT   IN   THE   CYLIN- 
DER.   A  special  cylinder  oil  for  gas  engines 
only  should  be  used. 

209.  Steam  cylinder  oil  is  not  well  adapted  to  a 
gas  engine  cylinder.     A  light,  thin  cylinder 
oil,  of  high  fire  test,  is  best  adapted  to  use  in 
the  gas  engine  cylinder.     It  is  usually  much 
less  expensive  than  heavy  steam  cylinder  oil. 
Some  gas  engines  are  fitted  at  the  wrist  and 
journal  boxes  with  grease  cups,  which  should 
be  filled  with  shafting  or  graphite  grease  and 
set  so  as  to  feed  automatically. 

210.  When  oil  and  grease  cups  are  filled  and  all 
bearing  parts  that  are  liable  to  wear  are  oiled, 
the  VALVE  STEMS  should  be  tried  by  lift- 
ing .the  valve  pallet  from  its  seat  a  number 
of  times  after  squirting  some  kerosene  oil  on 
the  stem  from  a   squirt  can.     These  stems 
should  be  frequently  examined  and  kefosene 
oil   used  occasionally    to   keep    them   clean. 
Never  use  ordinary  lubricating  oil  on  them. 
The  heat  simply  burns  it  and  leaves  a  gummy 
deposit  on  the  stem  which  interferes  with  the 
free  movement  of  the  valve. 

211.  STARTING  IS   NEXT  IN  ORDER.— 
Practically  all  the  small-sized  engines  from 


60  THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER. 

two  to  ten-horse  power  are  started,  as  it  is 
called,  by  hand.  Some  engine  builders  fit 
their  engines  over  ten  horse-power  with  a 
starter,  which,  in  some  instances,  is  more  al- 
luring to  the  purchaser  than  practical. 

212.  The  first  act  in  starting  a  gas  engine  by 
hand  after  switching  in  the  battery  current 
is  to  get  a  charge  of  gas  and  air,  properly 
mixed,   into   the   cylinder.     This   is   accom- 
plished by  opening  the  gas  or  gasoline  valve 
slightly  so  as  to  admit  a  small  portion  of  the 
fuel  as  the  receiving  valves  are  opened  when 
the  fly  wheels  are  turned  over  at  a  rapid  rate. 

213.  When  gasoline  is  the  fuel  some  manufac- 
turers supply  a  starting  cup,  which  fits  on  the 
mouth  of  the  air  or  receiving  pipe,  and  in- 
stead of  opening  the  needle  valve  a  small  por- 
tion of  gasoline    (about  a  tablespoonful)   is 
put  into  the  cup  and  placed  on  the  mouth  of 
the  receiving  pipe,  and  when  the  wheels  are 
turned  over  the  air  rushes  through  the  gaso- 
line in  the  cup,  and  the  engine  receives  its 
first  two  or  three  impulses  from  the  fuel  in 
the  cup,  which  gives  a  sufficient  momentum 
to  keep  it  going  until  the  cup  can  be  taken  off 
and  the  gasoline  from  the  needle  or  throttle 
valve    is   admitted,    from   which   the   engine 
gathers  full  speed. 

214.  You  have  no  doubt  heard  persons  say  that 
they  have  to  turn  their  engine  for  half  an 
hour  or  more  before  they  can  get  it  going.    If 
such  persons  knew  that  they  are  simply  pro- 


THE   PRACTICAL   GAS   ENGINEER.  61 

claiming  their  astounding  lack  of  judgment 
they  would  not  be  telling  it. 

215.  But,  you  say,  if  the  engine  fails  to  ignite 
its  first,  its  second  and  its  third  charges,  is  it 
not  policy  to  keep  turning  the  wheel  until  it 
does  ignite?     If  neither  of  the  first  three  or 
four  charges  are  ignited  the  cause  of  non-ig- 
nition will  not  be   removed  by  turning  the 
wheel  and  will  probably  be  getting  worse  the 
longer  you  turn,  and  the  fellow  who  does  not 
know  what  else  to  do  but  turn  ought  to  be 
compelled  to  turn  vigorously  until  his  tongue 
hangs  out  of  his  mouth  to  the  length  of  a  full- 
grown  lead  pencil.     If  such  exertion  doesn't 
start  his  thinker,  his  case  is  probably  hope- 
less. 

216.  If  an  engine  doesn't  ignite  its  first  charges 
there  is  a  cause  for  it,  and  no  amount  of  turn- 
ing will  locate  it,  but  a  little  common-sense 
thinking  will  not  only  locate  but  remove  the 
cause,  and  the  engine  will  do  its  own  turning 
after  the  first  two  or  four  revolutions. 

217.  You  would  like  to  know  why  I  say  four. 
If  common  sense  will  do  it,  after  allowing 
one  revolution  to  admit  the  charge  and  gain 
the   momentum,    why   not   always    start    or 
ignite  the  second  revolution  ?     There    is    no 
such    thing   as    absolute    perfection    even   in 
common  sense,  but  four,  and  occasionally  six 
revolutions  for  ignition  may  come  within  the 
bounds  of  practical  perfection.    However,  I 
know  of  many  gas  engine  operators  who  sel- 


62  THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER. 

dom  turn  the  wheel  more  than  the  second 
time. 

218.  The  engineer  who  knows  his  lesson  well 
will  know  that  there  are  many  improper  ad- 
justments and  irregularities  that    will   cause 
failure  of  ignition  on  the  first  turn,  and  will 
avoid  them,  and  as  they  are  of  sufficient  im- 
portance to  require  special  attention  we  had 
better  finish  starting  the  engine  in  a  normal 
condition  and  take  up  this  subject  later. 

219.  TURNING     OVER     COMPRESSION 
POINT. — Nearly  all  engines    are    provided 
either  with  a  relief  valve  or  a  shifting  cam  or 
lever,  which  makes  a  relief  out  of  the  exhaust 
valve.    By  means  of  these  valves  only  the  lat- 
ter part  of  the  compression  stroke  serves  the 
purpose,  inasmuch  as  the  former  part  is  re- 
lieved by  an  open  valve.     This  allows  suffi- 
cient compression  to  start  with  and  makes  re- 
sistance  at  this  point  barely  perceptible  in 
turning. 

220.  Others  prefer  to  inhale  a  charge  by  a  one- 
half  turn  of  the  wheel  on  the  outward  move- 
ment of  the  piston,  then  by  disengaging  the 
receiving  valve  lever  from  its  cam  a  rapid 
backward  movement  of  the  wheel,  and  the 
piston  compresses  the  charges,  and  fires  it 
from  the  tube  ignitor  or  the  electric  spark,  by 
snapping  the  sparker  quickly  by  hand  while 
on  compression. 

221.  The  ignition  of  this  charge  drives  the  pis- 
ton  rapidly   forward   and  gives   the   wheels 


THE  PRACTICAL  GAS  ENGINEER.  63 

sufficient  momentum  to  carry  several  revolu- 
tions and  catch  the  next  charge. 

222.  Where  a  relief  lever  cam  or  valve  is  used 
the  impulses  are  necessarily  light  while  the 
valve  is  relieving  the  compression,  and  the 
lever  should  be  shifted  and  the  valve  closed 
as  soon  as  the  wheels  have  gathered  sufficient 
momentum  to  carry  over  the  full  compres- 
sion. 

223.  Instead  of  having  the  engine  inhale  its  own 
charge  by  turning  the  wheel,  some  builders 
fit  their  engines  with  a  small  HAND  AIR 
PUMP  for  the  purpose  of  pumping  the  first 
charge    into    the    cylinder.    The    air    thus 
pumped  passes  through  a  receptacle  contain- 
ing gasoline,    which    serves  as  a  carbureter 
and  charges  the  air  sufficiently  with  gasoline 
to  make  it  explosive.    After  the  cylinder  re- 
ceives its  charge  from  the  pump,  the  valve  in 
the    pump    connection    is    closed,    and    the 
wheels  backed  up  on  compression,  the  charge 
is  fired  as  before  described,  or  by  means  of  a 
match  ignitor. 

224.  THE  MATCH  IGNITOR  consists  of  a 
little  tube   containing   a   plunger  and  'closed 
solidly  at  one  end,  except  two  sides  notches 
near  the    end,and    fitted    at    the    other  end 
with  a  packing  gland  through  which  the  stem 
of  the  plunger  extends  to  the  outside.     The 
end  of  this  stem  is  fitted  with  a  button. 

225.  The  tube  being  threaded,  is  screwed  into 
a  port  into  the  cylinder  walls  and  the  notched 


64  THE  PRACTICAL   GAS    ENGINEER. 

end  of  it  extends  into  the  combustion  cham- 
ber. 

226.  The  head  of  the  match  is  placed  under  the 
plunger  and  the  button  tapped  with  the  hand, 
dashing  the  plunger  down  onto  the  match 
head,  and  the  resulting  flash  ignites  the  first 
charge    in    the     cylinder    through   the    side 
notches  in  the  tube. 

227.  A  somewhat  different  device  is  fitted  to 
some  engines,  but  the  principle  is  the  same 
exactly. 

228.  You,  of  course,  understand  that  this  is  used 
only  for  igniting  the  initial  charge,  and  con- 
sequently is  only  a  starter. 

229.  The  compressed  air  starter  consists  of  a 
tank  with  a  capacity  two  or  three  times  that 
of  the  engine  cylinder,    and  an  air    pump, 
which  is  driven  by  a  belt  from  the  line  shaft, 
fills  the  tank  with  air  to  a  pressure  of  from 
sixty  to  one  hundred  pounds,  which  is  indi- 
cated by  a  pressure  gauge  on  the  tank.    The 
tank  is  filled  when  the  engine  is  running  and 
held  ready  for  the  next  start. 

230.  The  pipe  leading  from  the  tank  to  the  com- 
pression chamber  in  the  cylinder  is  fitted  with 
a  handle  valve  that  can  be  manipulated  quick- 

ly- 

231.  When  ready  to  start,  the  engine  is  set  with 
the  piston  back  in   the   cylinder,   the  crank 
shaft  about  two  inches  above  the  inner  center 
and  the  valves  closed.    Of  course,  the  cylin- 


THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  65 

der  valves  must  remain  closed  on  the  first 
outward  movement  of  the  piston. 

232.  When  the  engine  is  set  all  ready  to  receive 
the  charge  from  the  tank  and  the  battery  cur- 
rent switched  on  ready  for  ignition,  the  valve 
between    the    engine    and    tank    is  quickly 
opened,  throwing  the  pressure  from  the  tank 
into  the  cylinder,  which  drives  the  piston  for- 
ward.  By  closing  the  valve  at  the  end  of  the 
piston  stroke  the  act  may  be  repeated  at  the 
second  revolution  following,  giving  impulse 
sufficient  to  catch  a  charge  of  gas  and  air 
with  the  ignition  on  the  third  or  fourth  revo- 
lution. 

233.  This  compressed  air  starter  is  seldom  used 
on  engines  under  20  h.  p. 

234.  The  same  arrangement  with  a  smaller  tank 
and  much  less  pressure  can  be  used  success- 
fully by  fitting  a  little  cup,  for  the  purpose  of 
holding  gasoline,  into  the  pipe  between  the 
tank  and  engine,  and  as  the  air  rushes  from 
the  tank  into  the  cylinder  it  is  charged  with 
gasoline  and  may  be  exploded  by  the  Electric 
Spark  or  igniting  mechanism. 

235.  The    Compressed    Air  method  seerAs    the 
most  practical  for  starting  larger  sized  en- 
gines.   While  it  makes  the  first  cost  of  an  en- 
gine higher,  it  is  well  worth  its  price  to  the 
purchaser, 

236.  It  is  supposed,  of  course,  that  an  engine 
will  run  all  right  after  it  is  once  started,  but 
it  doesn't  always  do  it.    You  should  run  an 


66  THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER. 

engine  for  at  least  a  half  hour  without  a  load 
when  starting  it  the  first  time.  This  will  give 
you  an  opportunity  to  get  familiar  with  it, 
running  empty. 

237.  If  it  is  receiving  its  fuel  in  the  proper  pro- 
portions and  the  ignitor  is  working  all  right 
it  will  go  right  up  to  its  normal  speed  with- 
in a  few  seconds  after  starting,  and  if  it  has 
a  hit  and  miss  governor  it  will  cut  out  or 
miss  three  or  four  charges  to  every  one  it 
takes. 

238.  If  it  runs  along  this  way  at  a  "merry  clip," 
taking  only  one  charge  in  three  or  four  and 
firing  every  charge  it  takes,  you  can  rest  as- 
sured that  it  is  ready  for  work. 

239.  But  if  there  is  a  popping  or  back  firing 
into  the  receiving  pipe  it  may  need  MORE 
FUEL  or  the  receiving  valve  may  not  close 
properly,  or  the  ignitor  may  not  be  set  in 
proper  time,  or  is  otherwise  out  of  adjust- 
ment. 

240.  TOO  MUCH  FUEL    is    indicated   when 
there  is  smoke  issuing  from  the  exhaust  pipe 
and  when  the  charges  that  are  taken  are  not 
all  ignited. 

241.  You  can  shut  down  a  gas  engine  by  feed- 
ing too  much  fuel  just  as  readily  as  by  not 
giving  it  enough.    A  little  judgment  here  will 
tell  any  one  when  he  is  feeding  the  fuel  prop- 
erly. 

242.  It  is  a  mistake  to  turn  on  MORE  FUEL 
WHEN  MORE  POWER  is  wanted.    When 


THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  67 

an  engine  is  pulling  nearly  its  full  load  it  is 
cutting  out  only  about  one  charge  in  five  or 
six.  By  listening  closely  to  the  sounds  made 
by  the  engine  and  at  the  same  time  noticing 
it  closely  you  will  be  able  to  judge  whether 
it  is  running  properly  or  whether  it  lacks  the 
energy  it  should  develop. 

243.  The  COMPRESSION  has  very  much  to 
do  with  the  power  developed.  For  instance, 
if  the  valves  are  not  seating  properly  or  the 
piston  rings  are  poorly  fitted,  so  as  to  allow 
the  escape  of  part  of  the  charge  compressed 
and  also  a  part  of  the  impulsive  force,  the  en- 
gine will  develop  but  very  little  more  power 
than  to  keep  itself  in  motion. 

244.  About  thirty  per  cent,  of  the  entire  cylinder 
volume  should  constitute  COMPRESSION 
CHAMBER.     If  a  high  compression  pres- 
sure is  desired  twenty-five  or  even  twenty  per 
cent,  is  allowable. 

245.  You  understand  that  it  is  necessary,  in  fig- 
uring up  cylinder  volume,  to  consider  all  the 
valve  and  port  space,  which  is  practically  a 
part  of  the  cylinder.    The  principal  objection 
to  a  high  compression  is  the  danger  of  pre- 
mature firing  of  charges  under  a  full  load, 
which  is  due  to  auto-ignition,  a  result  of  high 
compression  pressure. 

246.  HIGH  COMPRESSION  is  sometimes,  but 
by  no  means  always,  the  cause  of  premature 
firing.    In  fact,  I  might  say  that  it  is  one  of 


68  THE   PRACTICAL   GAS   ENGINEER. 

the  rare  causes,  because  very  high  compres- 
sion engines  are  rare. 

247.  PREMATURE  IGNITION    may   be 
caused  by  one  thing  in  one  engine  and  an  en- 
tirely different  thing  in  another.        Probably 
the  most  common  cause  is  some  projecting 
point  of  iron  in  the  combustion  chamber  that 
becomes  red  hot,  which  serves  to  ignite   the 
charge,  similar  to  a  heated  tube. 

248.  An   improperly  proportioned  mixture,  re- 
sulting in  a  slow  combustion,  may  be  so  slow 
as  to  be  still  burning  when  the  next  charge 
is  admitted,  and  then  the  next  charge  will  be 
ignited  just  as  it  is  entering  the  cylinder  and 
fire  back  through  the  receiving  pipe. 

249.  Little  chunks  of  burnt  carbon,  accumulat- 
ing from  the  burnt  cylinder  oil,  in  the  com- 
bustion   chamber,     may    constantly    remain 
heated  to  the  ignition  point  and  ignite  the 
charges  prematurely. 

250.  Points  of  carbon  deposited  on  any  projec- 
tion in  the  combustion  chamber  will  do  the 

same  thing.     It  is,    therefore,  necessary  to 
occasionally  clean  out  the  gas  engine  cylinder. 

251.  A  CONSTRICTED  EXHAUST  passage 
may  retain  a  higher  degree  of  heat  in  the 
cylinder  and  thereby  assist  in  maintaining  an 
igniting  heat  on  some  projecting  point  in  the 
combustion  chamber.    But  there  is  a  power 
significance  to  valves  and  their  passage  that 
should  determine  their  size  and  areas. 

252.  Constricted  valve  passages  are  a  decided 


THE  PRACTICAL  GAS  ENGINEER.  69 

hindrance  to  the  development  of  power.  The 
valve  proportions  should  always  be  carefully 
figured  from  piston  speed  and  cylinder  area. 

253.  The  receiving  valve  area  should  be  such 
as  to  ?ive  the  ingoing  gases  a  speed  of  from 
95  to  110  feet  per  second.    The  exhaust  gases 
should  leave  the  cylinder  at  from  75  to  85 
feet  per  second  at  atmospheric  pressure. 

254.  The  exhaust  should  be  larger  than  the  in- 
let valve,  because  at  the  moment  of  the  open- 
ing of  the  exhaust  valve  there  is  a  pressure 
of  from:  twenty-five  to  thirty-five  pounds  in 
the  cylinder  to  relieve,  and  consequently  the 
rush  of  exhaust  gases  at  the  moment  of  re- 
lease is  away  above  110  feet  per  second,  and 
if  it  had  to  pass  through  a  constricted  valve 
passage   it  would  maintain  the  initial   high 
speed  throughout  the  exhaust  stroke   of   the 
piston,  resulting  in  a  piston  pressure  on  the 
entire  exhaust  stroke. 

255.  The  point,  then,  is  to  figure  the  exhaust 
passage  of  such  proportions  as  to  relieve  the 
exhaust  gases  at  an  average  speed  through- 
out the  exhaust  stroke  of  not  over  100  feet 
per  second.    I  regret  to  say  that  it  is  not  an 
uncommon  practice  among  manufacturers  in 
this  country  to  make  the  valves  and  their  pas- 
sages too  small. 

256.  In  a  number  of  engines  I  had  the  privelege 
to  examine,  manufactured  by  different  con- 
cerns, I  found  either  a  constricted  cylinder 
port  or  valve  area,  or  both. 


70  THE  PRACTICAL   GAS    ENGINEER. 

257.  It  is  the  height  of  folly  to  have  a  good  big 
cylinder  port,  and  choke  the  passage  with  a 
"measley"  little  valve,  or  vice  versa. 

The  passage  should  be  of  uniform  area  and 
of  ample  capacity  from  the  cylinder  port  to 
the  end  of  the  pipe. 

258.  The  manufacturer  who  will  not  figure  these 
valve  areas  carefully,  of  sufficient  capacity, 
is  cheating  his  engine  out  of  a  reputation  and 
his  customer  out  of  power. 

259.  TIMING    THE    VALVES.— The    move- 
ment of  the  valves  should  be  timed  to  give 
the  proper  results.  This  is  an  important  point 
for   all   gas   engine   operators   to  remember. 
The  valve  cams  on  a  four-cycle  engine  are 
usually  driven  by  the  two  to  one  gear  fitted 
onto  the  crank  shaft,  and  if  for  any  reason 
the  gears  are    taken  apart  and  put  together, 
even  if  only  one  cog  out  of  place,  it  will 
throw  the  valves  and  sparking  arrangement 
out  of  time. 

260.  The      manufacturers      usually      mark     a 
TOOTH  or  COG  on  one  eear  and  its  corre- 
sponding groove  on  the  other  with  the  same 
mark.     These  marked  points  should  always 
meet,  and  the  engine  is  then  properly  timed. 
You  can,  of  course,  easily  understand  how  a 
cam  and  cam  roller  may  become  worn  by  con- 
stant use  so  as  to  throw  the  valve  out  of  time, 
A  worn  condition  means  lost  motion,  which 
results  in  opening  the  valve  too  late  and  clos- 
ing it  too  early. 


THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  71 

261.  You  can  test  an  engine  to  know  if  it  is 
properly  timed  by  turning  the  wheels  over 
slowly  and  noticing  at  what  point  the  valves 
open  and  close  and  where  the  igniting  points 
separate. 

262.  THE  RECEIVING  VALVE  should  open 
at  the  beginning  of  the  outward  stroke  and 
close  at  the  end  of  the  same  stroke.    The  next 
inward   stroke    is    the    compression    stroke, 
when  all  valves  should  be  closed. 

263.  THE  SPARKER  POINTS  should  sepa- 
rate and  make  a  spark  just  before  the  end  of 
the  compression  stroke  is  reached.     This  is 
done  to  allow  for  the  instant  of  time  between 
the  making  of  the  spark  and  the  resulting 
combustion.     The  force  of  combustion  does 
not  come  instantaneous  with  the  making  of 
the  spark.    Therefore  the  compression  stroke 
will  have  ended  before  the  force  of  combus- 
tion really  begins,  and  the  piston  just  start- 
ing on  its  outward  stroke  receives  the  full 
expansive  force  of  combustion. 

264.  If  the  spark  were  made  just  at  the  end  of 
the  compression  stroke  actual  ignition  or  ex- 
pansion would  not  occur  until  the  piston  had 
traveled   probably   a   fourth   of   its   outward 
stroke.     This  delayed  combustion  could  not 
be  as  effective  as  if  occurring  at  the  very  be- 
ginning of  the  working  stroke. 

265.  THE  EXHAUST  VALVE  should  open 
when    about    three-fourths   of   the    working 
stroke  is  completed,  so  as  to  relieve  the  cylin- 


72  THE  PRACTICAL   GAS   ENGINEER. 

der  practically  to  atmospheric  pressure  at 
the  end  of  the  stroke.  The  exhaust  valve 
should  then  remain  open  for  the  entire  ex- 
haust stroke,  and  should  close  just  as  the  re- 
ceiving valve  is  again  opening. 

266.  Again  I  think  it  proper  to  refer  to  the  ques- 
tion of  lubricating  the  valve  stems  of  the  gas 
engine.     The  work  an  exhaust  valve  is  de- 
signed to  do  makes  lubricating  impracticable. 
The  heat  passing  through  the  exhaust  valve 
will  quickly  destroy  the  lubricating  qualities 
of  any  oil,  and  therefore  it  makes  it  useless. 

267.  It  is,  therefore,  the  custom  of  gas  engine 
builders  to  make  no  provision  for  valve  lu- 
brication.    They  can  be  operated  successfully 
without  oil.     Before   starting  a  new  engine 
squirt  some  kerosene  oil  on  the  stem  and  see 
that  it  moves  freely.    A  good  grade  of  pow- 
dered graphite  used  on  the  valves  and  valve 
stems    occasionally   would   tend   to   improve 
their  working  qualities. 

268.  All  frictional  parts  should  be  regularly  lu- 
bricated.     But   the   crank  pin   and   cylinder 
need  to  be  specially  looked  after.     The  oil 
cups  supplying  these  parts  should  be  noticed 
often  during  a  day's  run  to  make  sure  that 
the  oil  is  supplied  and  properly  distributed. 

269.  Insufficient  lubrication    of    the    cylinder  is 
often  indicated  by  a  peculiar  blowing,  bark- 
ing noise  in  the  cylinder  at  each  impulse.    It 
is  due  usually  to  a  dry  piston  allowing  the 
force  of  combustion  to  pass  the  rings.    It  can 


THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  73 

often  be  overcome  by  adjusting  the  lubricator 
for  a  freer  oil  supply  without  stopping  the 
engine. 

270.  After    running  a  cylinder  dry  at  the  first 
opportunity  the  piston  should  be  taken  out, 
and  the  rings,  their  seats  and  the  entire  pis- 
ton thoroughly  cleaned.     At  the  same  time 
the  cylinder  and  combustion  chamber  should 
be   examined    with    a    lighted    candle    and 
cleaned  from  chunks  of  burnt  lubricating  oil 
and  deposits  of  carbon  in  the  form  of  soot. 
This  is  also  a  good  time  to  clean  the  valve 
and  valve  ports,  as  well  as  the  igniting  ap- 
paratus. 

271.  Before  the  piston  is  returned  to  the  cylin- 
der it  should  be  lubricated  with  oil.    A  good 
engineer  will  seldom  have  this  to  do,  because 
he  will  see  to  it  that  his  cylinder  is  lubricated. 

272.  The  crank  bearing  should  run  cool.     If  it 
does   not   it  indicates   that   lubrication  is  at 
fault  or  that  it  is  not  properly  adjusted. 

273.  A  good  engineer  will  not  rest  easy  until  he 
has  located  and  removed  the  cause  of  a  hot- 
running  crank  box.  ,  . 

274.  FUEL  CONSUMPTION  of  an  engine  is 
always    a    legitimate    question  and    one    of 
grave  importance  to  the  purchaser,  as  well  as 
to  the  manufacturer. 

275.  Ordinarily  about  one  and  two-tenths  pints 
(1  2-10)  of  gasoline  or  about  fifteen  feet  of 
natural  gas,  per  horse  power  per  hour  under 
full  load,  will  cover  the  fuel  consumption. 


74  THE   PRACTICAL   GAS    ENGINEER. 

That  is,  when  the  gases  named  are  of  stand- 
ard quality  and  the  water  comes  from  the  wa- 
ter jacket  at  a  temperature  of  about  160  de- 
grees Fahrenheit. 

276.  The  temperature  of  the  water  in  the  cham- 
ber around  the  cylinder  has  very  much  to  do 
with  fuel  consumption. 

277.  If  water  from  a  hydrant  is  forced  around 
the  cylinder  so  as  to  keep  it  cold,  the  heat 
from  the  explosions  or  combustion  is  cooled 
down  so  quickly  by  radiation  that  the  expan- 
sive force  is  materially  reduced,  and  conse- 
quently less  power  from  the  same  charge. 

278.  The  object  of  the  water  is  not  to  keep  the 
cylinder  Cold,  but  simply  Cool  enough  so  as 
to  prevent  the  lubricating  oil  from  burning. 
The  hotter  the  cylinder  with  effective  lubrica- 
tion the  more  power  the  engine  will  develop. 

279.  It  should  also  be  remembered  that  an  en- 
gine is  the  most  economical  in  fuel  consump- 
tion when  working  practically  under  a  full 
load. 

280.  It  is  wrong  to  suppose  that  an  engine  tak- 
ing fifteen  feet  of  gas  per  horse  power  under 

a  full  load  should  take  only  seven  and  a  half 
(7*/2)  feet  under  half  load.  When  running 
empty  an  engine  may  use  from  thirty  to  thir- 
ty-five per  cent  of  its  total  fuel  consumption 
under  full  load. 

281.  Speed  has  considerable  influence  over  fuel 
consumption,  especially  in  driving  the  engine 
empty.  Take,  for  instance,  an  engine  of  four 


THE   PRACTICAL   GAS   ENGINEER.  75 

horse  power,  run  it  empty  at  a  speed  of,  say, 
250  revolutions  per  minute,  and  notice  its  fuel 
requirements  at  that  speed,  then  increase  the 
speed  to  500  revolutions  per  minute,  and  you 
practically  double  the  fuel  consumption  run- 
ning the  engine  alone. 

282.  It  is  not  always  practical  for  a  manufac- 
turer    to     guarantee    fuel     consumption.     I 
should  say  it  is  seldom,  if  ever,  practical  to  do 
so  without  exacting  from  the  purchaser  con- 
ditions and  requirements    that  would    make 
him  feel  that  the  engine  itself  is  not  prac- 
tical.    In  general  the  average  fuel  consump- 
tion may  easily  be  kept  down  to  the  quantity 
above  mentioned,  although  many  conditions 
may  arise  to  change  the  amount  required. 

283.  It  is  not  always  the  fault  of  the  manufac- 
turer if  the  fuel  consumption  overruns  the 
estimate.     It  is  more  often  the  fault  of  the 
engineer,  in  my  opinion. 

I  should  advise  for  economical  fuel  con- 
sumption : 

First — To  keep  jacket  water  at  160  degrees 
Fahrenheit. 

Second — To  run  engine  at  a  medium  speed. 

Third — To  use  a  good  standard  fuel. 

Fourth — To  see  that  every  charge  the  en- 
gine takes  is  exploded,  for  which  a  proper 
mixture  and  a  good  spark  or  hot  tube  are 
necessary. 

Fifth — The  admission  valve  should  close 
properly  between  charges,  so  as  not  to  allow 


76  THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER. 

a  continuous  flow  of  fuel  into  the  engine. 

Sixth — Never  throttle  the  fuel  so  closely 
that  the  engine  cannot  get  a  full  charge  every 
time  it  needs  it. 

Seventh — Be  sure  that  there  is  no  leak  in 
the  supply  or  overflow  pipes  where  fuel 
can  escape. 

Eighth — When  gasoline  is  used  be  sure 
that  there  is  no  leak  in  the  supply  tank. 

Ninth — Exhaust  and  Receiving  Valves 
must  seat  properly  and  not  leak.  Cylinder 
rings  must  hold  the  explosive  force. 

With  these  precautions  one  will  use  only  so 
much  as  will  be  required  by  the  engine  to 
handle  its  load. 


THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  77 


PART  IV. 


GAS  ENGINE  TROUBLES 

284.  Following  are  five    gas-engine    troubles 
that  are  most  frequently  met  with:     De- 
fective Ignition,  Pounding  in  the  Cylinder, 
Loss  of  Power,  Back  Firing  and  Obstinate 
Starting,  although  the  last  is  very  often 
intimately  associated  with  the  first. 

285.  DEFECTIVE     IGNITION.— The    symp- 
toms and  causes  for  defective  ignition  are: 
Difficult   starting,  thumping   in  the  cylinder 
and  an  occasional  terrific  report  at  the  end 
of    the    exhaust  pipe,  Misfiring,  Premature 
Firing.     It  must  not  be  taken  for  granted, 
however,  that  difficult  starting  is  always  due 
to  defective  ignition.     But    when  an  engine 
refuses  to  start  after  turning  the  wheels  sev- 
eral times,   defective  ignition  may  be    sus- 
pected, and  the  igniting  apparatus  should  be 
looked  after. 

286.  REMEDIES  FOR  DEFECTIVE  IGNI- 
TION.— If  a  tube  ignitor  is  used  and  the 
charge  is  fired  too  early,  throwing  the  wheels 
backward,  the  flame  should  be  raised  so  as 
to  heat  the  tube  at  a  higher  point.     If  the 
charge  isn't  fired  at  all,  then  the  flame  may 
be  directed  at  a  lower  point  on  the  tube.  But 
in  either  event  it  is  always  best  to  have  the 


78  THE  PRACTICAL   GAS   ENGINEER. 

tube  quite  hot  (bright  red  hot)  when  start- 
ing. It  can  be  cooled  to  a  cherry  red  after 
the  engine  is  running,  and  yet  fire  its  charges 
successfully.  The  port  or  passage  between 
cylinder  and  tube  must  always  be  free  and 
unobstructed.  It  sometimes  clogs  with  burnt 
carbon.  Sometimes  the  builder  makes  this 
port  too  small.  Clean  if  obstructed.  Enlarge 
it  if  necessary. 

287.  When  the  battery  or  magneto  is  used  for 
make  and  break  ignition  purposes  the  timing 
of  the  spark  is  always  important.     The  ter- 
minals should  separate  just  before  the  crank 
passes  the  inner  center.    The  switch  may  be 
disconnected.      Some   of   the  wires  may  be 
loose  on  their  binding  posts.     The  terminals 
or    the    movable    terminal    shaft     may     be 
gummed  up  or  corroded  and  needs  cleaning. 
The  battery  may  be   nearly  exhausted   and 
needs  renewing.     The  current  may  be  short- 
circuited  somewhere  before  reaching  the 
engine. 

288.  SHORT  CIRCUIT.— If  the  zinc  plates  or 
any  one  of  them  should  be  allowed  to   touch 
the  carbon  within  the  cell  it  will  cause  an 
internal  short  circuit.     If  one  wire  from  the 
battery  to  the  engine  should  have  its  insula- 
tion broken  at  a  point  where  it  touches  some 
pipe  or  iron  that  in  any  way  communicates 
with  the  other  wire,  there  is  an  external  short 
circuit.  Broken  insulation  may  short  circuit 
the  spark  coil. 


THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  79 

289.  The  Battery  current  is  tested  by  discon- 
necting the  end  of  one  of  the  terminal  wires 
and  touching  with  it  the  binding    post    to 
which  the  other  wire  is  attached.  If  it  does 
not  make  a  bright  spark  each  time  the  wire 
is  snapped  or  slipped  off  the  binding  post  you 
can  be  sure  that  some  of  the  causes  above 
named  are  to  be  found  and  as  soon  as  the 
cause  is  removed  the  spark  will  show  up  all 
right. 

290.  If  there  is  a  good  spark  on  the  ends  of 
the  wires  and  a  weak  one  or  none  at  all  at 
the  point  of  contact  of  the  terminals  it  indi- 
cates that  the  trouble  is  in  the  sparking  mech- 
anism  on  the  engine.    This    mechanism    is 
either  corroded,  gummy  or  short    circuited. 
It  should  be  thoroughly  cleaned  and  closely 
examined  for  a  short    circuit.     Carbon    de- 
posit coating  over  the  insulation  or  inside  of 
exploding  chamber  may  cause  a  short  circuit. 

291.  The  SPARKER  INSULATION  can  eas- 
ily be  tested  by  disconnecting  the  wire  NOT 
attached  to  the  insulated  terminal  and  snap- 
ping it  off  some  of  the  bright  parts  of  the 
engine,  when  the  terminals    are  apart   (the 
other  wire  being  of  course  attached  to  the 
binding  post  on  the  insulated  terminal),    and 
if  a  spark  is  made  it  indicates  that  the  insula- 
tion is  broken  and  consequently  a  short  cir- 
cuit. If  no  spark  is  made  the  insulation  is  all 
right. 

292.  There  should  be  nothing  loose  or  no  lost 


80  THE  PRACTICAL   GAS    ENGINEER. 

motion  about  the  terminals  or  the  mechanism 
operating  them. 

293.  Either  a  good  fluid  or  dry  cell  battery  will 
furnish  a  good  spark  from  two  to  six  months, 
according  to  the  amount  of  work  done  with 
the  engine.  If  the  engine  is  used  continuous- 
ly for  ten  hours  each  day  the  battery  may 
need  renewing  any  time  after  two  or  three 
months. 

294.  I  have  on  several  different  occasions  found 
engines  that  absolutely  refused  to  start  when 
the  battery  and  all  connections  seemed  to  be 
in  good  condition,  but  went  off  and  ran  per- 
fectly from  the  first  turn  of  the  wheel  after  a 
new  spark  coil  was  placed  in  the  circuit.  The 
short  circuit  in  the  old  coil  was  so  deep  down 
among  the  coils  of  wire  that  it  could  not  be 
detected. 

295.  The  character  or  appearance  of  the  spark, 
and  especially  if  of  a  scattering  nature,  should 
lead  you  to  suspect  a  short  circuited  coil.    An 
EFFECTIVE  or  GOOD  igniting  spark  is  a 
SINGLE  BLUE-WHITE    SPARK    at    the 
point  of  contact.  But  beware  of  a  dozen  little 
sparks  flying  out  in  all  directions  from  the 
terminals.  They  will  not  ignite. 

296.  A  battery  may  not  be  entirely  exhausted 
when  it  fails  to  give  an  igniting  spark.     The 
fluid  in  the  cell  may  have  evaporated  so  that 
the   carbon   element  is   not   sufficiently   sub- 
merged. I  have  repeatedly  revived  fluid  bat- 
teries  that   were    apparently    exhausted    by 


THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  81 

simply  filling  into  each  cell  pure  rain  water 
to  within  one-half  inch  of  the  lid  of  the  cell. 

297.  An  old  battery  that  has  not  been  used  for  a 
long  time,  and  in  which  the  elements  seem 
good   may  be  treated  this  way,   and  after- 
wards short  circuited  for  about  three  or  five 
minutes. 

298.  In  fact,  in  renewing  a  battery  or  setting  up 
a  new  one,  it  is  always  good  poliqy  to  short 
circuit  it  for  from  three  to  five  minutes  by 
bringing  the  ends  of  the  terminal  wires  in 
contact  with   each    other.     This    creates    a 
healthy  chemical  action  within  the  cells,  which 
is  necessary  to  generate  the  electric  current. 

299.  The  current  from  a  dynamo  ignitor  is  test- 
ed, while  the  dynamo  is  running  at  its  rated 
speed,  by  taking  a  piece  of  wire  about  two 
feet  long  with  the  insulation  stripped  off  both 
ends,  and  placing  one  end  onto  one  of  the 
binding  posts  of  the  machine  and  snapping 
the  other  end  off  the  other  binding  post.  This 
will  produce  a  faint  spark  if  a  current  is  gen- 
erating, and  by  placing  a  spark  coil  in,  the 
circuit — that  is,  by  taking  two  short  wires  as 
above  described  and  connecting  one  end  of 
each  to  a  binding  post  on  the  coil  and  using 
the  other  ends  to  make  and  break  the  current 
on  the  dvnamo  binding  posts — you  get  the 
full  benefit  of  the  current  and    can    judge 
of  the  igniting  qualities  by  the  size  and  color 
of  the  spark. 


82  THE  PRACTICAL   GAS    ENGINEER. 

300.  The  fields  of  a  dynamo  should  not  become 
overheated,  but   should    remain    cool.     The 
bearings  should  be  oiled  properly,    and    the 
brushes  and  commutator  should  have  regular 
attention.  It  should  be  kept  absolutely  clean. 
For  further  information  see  chapter  on  Gen- 
erator Ignition. 

301.  Before    leaving  the  subject    of  ignition  I 
wish  to  emphasize  the  fact  THAT  A  GAS 
ENGINE  IS  NOT  RUNNING  PROPER- 
LY if  every  charge  admitted  by  the  governor 
is  NOT  FIRED  or  ignited.     No  one  should 
allow  his  engine  to  run  taking  two,  three  or 
four  charges  in  succession  and  only  firing  one 
of  them,  without  immediately  locating  and  re- 
moving the  cause. 

302.  I  recall  a  case  of  misfiring  and  an  occa- 
sional terrific  report  at  the  end  of  the  exhaust 
pipe   which  was  caused  by  the    taper    pin, 
which  held  the  rocker  arm  to  the  movable 
stem,  wearing  loose  and  allowing  lost  motion 
at  this  point,  which  should  have  been  rigid. 
A  new  and  larger  sized  pin  made  out  of  a 
wire   nail   driven  firmly   into  position   com- 
pletely overcame  the  trouble. 

303.  The  lost  motion  made  such  an  indefinite 
and  uneven  contact  that  only  an  occasional 
charge  was   ignited,  which   in  turn    ignited 
those  previously  forced  through  the  cylinder, 
without  ignition,  into  the  exhaust  drum  and 
pipe,  and  the  result  was  a  terrific  report   at 
the  end  of  the  exhaust  pipe,  similar  to  the 


THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  83 

firing  of  a  cannon.  Every  engineer  should 
familiarize  himself  quickly  with  the  natural 
sounds  of  his  engine,  and  his  ear  will  always 
be  on  the  alert  and  detect  any  unnatural 
sound  the  instant  it  occurs. 

304.  I  have  been  able  to  correctly  say,  "That 
engine  is  not  firing  all  its  charges,"  by  lis- 
tening to  the    exhaust    reports    half  a  mile 
across    the    country.     The    character   of  the 
sound  of  the  exhaust  reports,  as  well  as  their 
number  between  intermissions,  will  also  tell 
you  at  a  distance  whether  the  engine  has  a 
light  or  heavy  load  and  whether  it  is  over- 
loaded. 

305.  The  sense  of  hearing  suspects  and  decides 
whether  there  is  trouble  when  the  engine  is 
running.    The  sense  of  sight  locates  and  cor- 
rects it.     The    sense   of  smell  will  tell   you 
whether  fumes  of  burnt  gas  are  passing  the 
piston     rings  or  leaky  valves,    and  escaping 
into    the    engine-room    instead    of    outside 
through   the    exhaust   pipe.     The   sense    of 
touch  tells  you  whether    the  journal  boxes 
and  other  bearings  are  running  cool.     The 
sense  of  taste  is  about  the  only  one  of  the 
five  senses  that  we  do  not  need  to  detect  some 
trouble  about  an  engine.  In  fact,  I  have  seen 
engines  running  so  badly  that  I  imagined  I 
could  taste  it.     The  ear,  however,  may  be 
considered  the  chief  guide  while  the  engine 
is  in  motion. 

306.  POUND  IN  CYLINDER.— The  principal 


84  THE  PRACTICAL  GAS    ENGINEER. 

cause  of  pounding  in  the  cylinder  is  pre-igni- 
tion  of  the  charge.  Pre-ignition,  as  has  al- 
ready been  stated,  is  usually  caused  by  some 
projecting  point  or  carbon  deposit  in  the  ig- 
niting chamber,  heated  to  the  igniting  point. 
A  high  compression  of  the  charge  may  also 
contribute  to  pre-ignition. 

307.  Of  course  a  knock  or  pound  at  the  wrist 
or  crosshead,  due  to  lost  motion    at    these 
points,  must  not  be  confounded  with  a  pound 
in  the  cylinder.     A  loose  fly-wheel  may  also 
puzzle  one  at  times,  inasmuch  as  the  jar  or 
thump  caused  by  it  may  sound  like  a  thump 
in  the  cylinder. 

308.  I  would  test  pre-ignition  by  throwing  off 
the  igniting  current  or  shutting  off  the  tube 
ignitor.     If  the  engine  continues  to  fire  its 
own  charges  and  runs  along  pounding  away 
it  is  good  evidence  that  the  pound  is  due  to 
pre-ignition.     If,  however,   it   ceases   to  fire 
the  charges  the  instant  the  igniting  current  is 
cut  off,  pre-ignition    caused    by    projecting 
points  or  carbon  deposit  may  be  excluded. 
But  the  hot  point  on  the  tube  and  the  time  of 
the  spark  must  not  be  overlooked.  If,  how- 
ever, the  pounding  keeps  up  until  the  engine 
stops,  a  tight  piston  is  probably  the  cause  of 
the  trouble. 

309.  I  have  frequently  shut  off  the  current  and 
gas  from  a  pounding  engine  and  noticed  it 
stop  dead  sooner  than  you  should  expect  it  to. 
And  when  endeavoring  to  turn  the  fly-wheel 


THE   PRACTICAL   GAS   ENGINEER.  85 

over  by  hand  the  piston  stuck  tight  in  the 
cylinder.  A  few  minutes'  rest,  allowing  it  to 
cool,  will  loosen  up  the  piston. 

310.  If  a  piston  is  made  to  fit  the  cylinder  too 
snugly  it  will  usually  result  in  pounding    in 
the  cylinder  when  the  engine  is  put  under  a 
a  heavy  load.    The  cylinder  thump  or  pound 
is  a  deep,  heavy  pound,  while  a  loose  fly- 
wheel or  loose  crank  bearing  is  indicated  by  a 
thump  more  of  the  clicking  variety.     Then 
there  is  a  BARKING  NOISE,  due  to  the 
escape  of  the  EXPLOSIVE  FORCE  PAST 
THE  CYLINDER  RINGS.     This  is  easily 
distinguished  from  either  of  the  others. 

311.  The  object  is  to  locate  the  cause  of  thump 
or  pound  wherever  it  is  and  remove  it.    Any 
one  who  is  able  to  find  the  cause  of  the  trou- 
ble will  no  doubt  find  a  remedy  that  will  soon 
correct  the  difficulty. 

312.  If  pre-ignition  is  the  cause  the  pounding 
will  cease  as  soon  as  the  combustion  chamber 
is  cleared  of  the  carbon  deposit,  the  project- 
ing point  causing  the  firing  is  removed,  the 
time  of  the  spark  set  later  or  the  flame  cm  the 
tube  elevated. 

313.  If  the  cylinder  rings  allow  the  explosion 
to  pass,  making  a  barking  noise,  they  should 
be  either  replaced  by  new  ones  well   fitted 
into  their  grooves  and  also  to  the  cylinder, 
or  the  old  ones  should  be  dressed  with  a  fine 
file,  on  their  surface,  so  as  to    bear    at  all 


86  THE  PRACTICAL  GAS    ENGINEER. 

points  of  their  circumference  on  the  cylinder 
wall. 

314.  If  the  knock  is  in  the  crosshead  it  may  be 
relieved  by  tightening  up  the  bearing.     Care 
must  be  exercised  lest  you  get  it  too  tight, 
which  will  make  it  knock  more  than  ever. 

315.  If  the  knock  is  in  the  crank  pin  box  it  is 
best  to  take  it  up  a  little  at  a  time.    A  loose 
fly-wheel  must  never  be  allowed  to  run  until 
it  is  thoroughly  keyed  to  the  shaft  and  per- 
fectly tightened. 

316.  I  might  add  that  pre-ignition  is    liable   to 
cause  undue  expansion  of  the  piston  and 
cause  it  to  stick  in  the  cylinder.     In  such  in- 
stances it  is  not  proper  to  dress  the  piston 
until  pre-ignition  is  corrected.    A  piston  that 
sticks  when  pre-ignition  occurs  may  run  all 
right  when  pre-ignition  ceases.  The  cause  of 
this  undue  expansion  of  the  piston  from  pre- 
ignition  is  the  extreme  heat    the  piston    en- 
counters while  firing  the  charge  before  the 
end  of  the  compression  stroke. 

317.  Don't  conclude  that  a  THUMP,  POUND 
OR  THUD  about  an  engine  is  always  due  to 
some  trouble  in  the  cylinder.    Look  for  such 
causes  as. the  following: 

First — Pre-ignition    (premature  firing). 

Second — Badly  worn  or  broken  piston 
rings. 

Third — The  explosive  force  escaping  by 
the  piston. 

Fourth — Improper  setting  of  a  valve. 


THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  87 

Fifth — A  badly  worn  piston. 

Sixth — Piston  striking  some  projecting 
point  or  foreign  body  in  the  combustion 
chamber. 

Seventh — A  loose  crosshead  bearing. 

Eighth — A  loose  crank  pin  bearing. 

Ninth — A  loose  nut  or  journal  box  cap. 

Tenth — A.  fly-wheel  or  pulley  loose  on  the 
shaft. 

Eleventh — A  broken  spoke,  hub  or  rim  in 
fly-wheel  or  pulley. 

Twelfth — Lost  motion  in  any  bearing,  gear 
or  governor. 

319.  The  sound  produced  by  pre-ignition  may 
be  described  as  a  DEEP,  HEAVY  POUND. 

320.  A  loose  fly-wheel  causes  a  thump  or  some- 
times a  sort  of  metallic  grating  sound. 

321.  A  loose  crosshead  or  crank  bearing  makes 
a  thud  or  knock. 

322.  A  click  will  usually  direct  attention  to  a 
loose  nut  or  cracked   rim,   spoke  or  hub,   on 
pulley  or  fly-wheel. 

323.  LOSS  OF  POWER.— The  loss  of  power 
is  due  principally  to  leaky  valves,  misfiring 
and  choked  inlet  or  exhaust  passage.    A  bent 
exhaust  lever  or  lost  motion  by  reason  of  a 
worn  condition  of  the  cam  and  cam  wheel  or 
roller,  which  will  prevent    a    full  and    free 
opening  of  the  valve,  will  cause  a  constricted 
passage. 

324.  Under   leaky   valves     may    be  considered 
leaky  piston    rings,  or  any  point  about    the 


88  THE  PRACTICAL   GAS    ENGINEER. 

cylinder  where  part  of  the  explosive  force 
escapes  while  it  is  driving  the  piston  on  its 
working  stroke. 

325.  The    valves,  if    leaking,    should    be  taken 
out  and  thoroughly  cleaned  and  ground  into 
their  seats  with  powdered  emery  and  lubri- 
cating oil. 

326.  If  the  cylinder  rings  are  so  worn  as  to 
become  leaky  or  allow  escape  of  the  explosive 
force,  they  must  be   replaced  by  new  ones, 
and  it  is  sometimes  necessary  to  put  the  pis- 
ton into  a  lathe  and  true  up  the  grooves  to 
fit  the  new  rings.  If  any  point  of  leak  is  dis- 
covered  it    should   be    properly    packed    or 
plugged  at  once. 

327.  MISFIRING  means    failing  to  fire  each 
charge  the  engine  takes,  and  the  remedy  has 
already  been  given.    It  consists  of  examining 
the  battery   and   all   its    connections   to   the 
terminals,  and  determining  whether  the  bat- 
tery is   exhausted   or  not,  whether  there  are 
broken  connections,  whether  the  terminals  or 
other  points  need  cleaning  or  attention  oth- 
erwise.    If  tube  ignition    is    used,    whether 
the  tube  is  hot  enough,  whether  it  is  heated 
too  high  up,  whether  by  deposit  or  other 
means  the  passage  from  the  cylinder  to  the 
inside  of  the  tube  is  closed  up.     Also    de- 
termine whether  fuel  is  fed  to  the  engine  in 
proper    quantities.     May     not     be     getting 
enough  at  a  charge  or  even  too  much. 

328.  CHOKED    INLET  PASSAGE.— Nearly 


THE   PRACTICAL   GAS   ENGINEER.  89 

all  gas  engines  are  fitted  with  some  kind  of 
a  mixing  device  in  the  shape  of  a  perforated 
plate,  wire  screen,  etc.  These  mixing  devices 
may  become  occluded  with  dust,  soot,  waste, 
cloth  or  paper  drawn  into  the  inlet  pipe.  The 
strangest  of  all  they  sometimes  become  oc- 
cluded with  ice.  The  rapid  vaporization  of 
the  gasoline  while  passing  through  the  mixer 
may  freeze  any  watery  elements  in  the  air 
and  gasoline,  and  deposit  it  in  the  shape  of 
ice  in  the  mixer  until  it  becomes  completely 
occluded. 

329.  The  engine  may  start  off  and  pull  its  load 
easily,  and  as  the  ice  is  gradually  deposited 
in  the  mixer  the  engine  shows  less  and  less 
power,  until  it  finally  stops.     A  wait  of  five 
or  ten  minutes  'will  melt  the  ice  sufficiently 
to  allow  another  short  run.     Such  actions  or 
symptoms  should  lead  one  to  suspect  a  frozen 
up  mixer  and  to  look  for  the  cause. 

330.  In  a  number  of  such  instances  that  came 
under  my  notice  I  have  simply  removed  the 
mixer  screen  entirely   and    ran    the    engine 
without  it,  which  overcame  the  trouble  en- 
tirely. 

331.  Whatever  the  cause  of  a  choked  inlet,  see 
that  the  cause  is  removed. 

332.  BACK-FIRING. --The    explosive    force 
coming  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  receiving 
pipe  is  called  back-firing.    Its  principal  cause 
is    a   delayed   combustion    of    the    previous 
charge.     When  the  air  entering  the  cylinder 


90  THE  PRACTICAL   GAS   ENGINEER. 

does  not  receive  a  sufficient  charge  of  gas 
or  gasoline  it  makes  a  slow  burning  mixture. 
This  mixture  may  be  so  slow  in  combustion 
that  it  continues  to  burn  not  only  on  the  work- 
ing stroke  but  also  on  the  exhaust  stroke  of 
the  piston,  and  there  still  remains  enough 
flame  in  the  cylinder  to  fire  the  fresh  in- 
coming charge,  which,  of  course,  escapes 
back  through  the  receiving  pipe,  the  receiv- 
ing valve  being  open. 

333.  Any  projecting  point  of  iron  in  the  ignit- 
ing chamber  or  chunks  of  carbon  deposited 
in  the  cylinder  may  become  heated  to  a  red 
heat  and  serve  to  ignite  the  incoming  charges. 

334.  Feeding  the  fuel  a  little  more  freely  will 
remedy  the  back-firing  if  caused  by  a  weak 
mixture.     If  it  does  not  control  it  chunks  of 
carbon  or  projecting  points  of  iron  or  carbon 
should  be  looked  for  and  removed  if  found. 

335.  OBSTINATE  STARTING.  —  Defective 
ignition  is  one  of  the  principal  causes,  and 
you  have  already  been  told  the  remedy.  But 
SLOW  VAPORIZATION    of  gasoline    in 
cold  weather,  OVERCHARGING  THE  IN- 
GOING AIR  with  gas  or  gasoline  when  turn- 
ing an  engine  over  by  hand,  and  WATER 
IN  THE  CYLINDER  when  trying  to  start, 
are   causes   as   frequently   met   with   as   de- 
fective ignition. 

336.  You  can  facilitate  vaporization  of  gasoline 
in  cold  weather  for  starting  purposes  by  pre- 
viously heating  some  point  of  the  air  inlet 


THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  91 

pipe,  which  serves  to  warm  the  air  as  it  en- 
ters, which  in  turn  vaporizes  the  gasoline 
better  than  cold  air. 

337.  A  bottle  of  gasoline  heated  by  holding  it 
in  hot  water  may  be  used  for  starting.    The 
heated  gasoline  vaporizes  easier. 

338.  To    avoid    overcharging  the   ingoing  air 
when  turning  the  wheels  over  slowly  in  start- 
ing, a  starting  cup  may  be  used  on  mouth  of 
receiving  pipe  instead  of  turning  on  gasoline 
by  the  needle  valve.     This  gives  the  initial 
impulses.    After  a  few  impulses  are  received, 
by  opening  the  needle  valve  very  slightly  and 
gradually  increasing  the  opening,  the  proper 
starting  point  is   found.     The  valve  set  at 
that  point  will  usually  start  the  engine  when 
the  wheels  are  rolled  over. 

339.  If  WATER  is  found  in  the  cylinder  it  must 
be  removed  and  the  leak  stopped  before  a 
start  is  made.     Sometimes  a  leak  is  so  slight 
that  it  will  not  affect  the  running  of  the  en- 
gine after  it  is  started,  but  will  leak  enough 
while  the  engine  is  idle  to  prevent  starting. 

340.  Therefore  it  is  always  well  to  drain  the 
water  jacket  entirely  before  stopping  the  en- 
gine, and  to  start  the  engine  before  turning 
the  water  on  again.    Forming  a  habit  of  thus 
draining  the  water  off  before  stopping  the 
engine  will  serve  an  excellent  purpose  both 
in  a  leaky  cylinder  and  in  cold  weather. 

341.  GROUND  JOINTS    that    become    leaky 
should  be  reground  with  flour  of  emery  and 


92  THE  PRACTICAL   GAS    ENGINEER. 

oil,  and  wiped  perfectly  clean  after  sufficient- 
ly ground. 

342.  LEAKY  VALVE  STEMS  are  remedied 
by  reaming  out  the  bearing  and  putting  in  a 
bushing  or  a  larger  stem.  The  stem,  of 
course,  must  be  in  line  with  the  bearing  cen- 
ters of  the  valve  seat. 

344.  If    IGNITION    GRADUALLY    FAILS 
make  the  tube  hotter.  Renew  battery  or  have 
magneto  or  generator  put  in  order  by  an  elec- 
trician. 

345.  WEAK  EXPLOSIONS,  when  engine  is 
starting,  hardly  strong  enough  to  drive  en- 
gine up  to  speed,  indicates  leaky  valves. 

346.  IF  SPEED  GETS  LOWER  AND  EN- 
GINE FINALLY  STOPS,  suspect: 

First — Irregular  ignition;  charges  not  all 
fired. 

Second — Overheated  cylinder  or  piston. 

Third — Hot  journal  or  wrist  box. 

Fourth — Overload  on  engine. 

Fifth — Fuel  supply  exhausted. 

Sixth — Exhaust  or  receiving  valve  leaking. 

REMEDIES : 

First — Repair  broken  wire  connections, 
clean  electrodes  or  igniting  mechanism,  re- 
pair insulation,  renew  battery,  attend  to  mag- 
neto or  sparking  dynamo.  Heat  igniting  tube 
to  a  higher  degree. 

Second — Increase  supply  of  cold  water  and 
lubricating  oil. 

Third — Stop   engine,    examine    hot    box; 


THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  93 

if  cut  any,  dress  all  rough  places,  and  wipe 
out  all  filings  or  cuttings,  readjust  boxes  to 
bearings  carefully,  lubricate  well,  start  en- 
gine, and  keep  a  close  watch  on  it  for  sev- 
eral days.  If  it  shows  any  tendency  to  heat, 
examine  again  and  readjust. 

Fourth — Reduce  load  on  engine. 

Fifth — Replenish  fuel  supply. 

Sixth — Grind  the  valve  that  leaks,  to  a 
good  seat,  with  emery  flour  and  oil.  Leaky 
valves  arid  piston  rings  can  be  tested  by 
turning  the  engine  wheels  over  till  the  pis- 
ton goes  on  its  compression  stroke.  If  the 
valves  and  piston  hold,  the  compression  of 
air  causes  the  piston  to  rebound.  If  they 
leak,  you  can  turn  the  wheel  on  over  the 
compression  stroke. 

347.  SMOKE  at  the  end  of  the  exhaust  pipe 
means  an  over  supply  of  fuel  or  a  surplus 
of  lubricating  oil  in  the  cylinder. 

349.  SMOKE    at    open  end  of  cylinder  indi- 
cates that  there  is  either  a  sand  hole  in  the 
piston,  leaky  rings,    or    that  the  lubricating 
oil  in  the  cylinder  is  decomposed  by  the 
heat. 

350.  Piston  taken  out  and  filled    full  of  water 
will  test  it  for  a  sand  hole  or  other  leak. 

351.  When  piston  is    out    examine     rings     if 
broken  or  worn  out,  or  show  by  wearing  at 
only  one  or  two  places  in  their  circumfer- 
ence that   they   do  not   fit  the  cylinder,   re- 
place them  with  new  ones  snugly  fitted  into 


94  THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER. 

the  piston  grooves,  as  well  as  turned  to  fit 
the  cylinder.  If  lubricating  oil  is  burning 
increase  supply  of  cold  water. 


PART    V. 


GENERAL  INFORMATION 

352.  BOUND     BOXES.— When     either     the 
crosshead  or  crank  boxes  become  worn  so 
that  they  shoulder  tightly  after  all  the  lin- 
ers  are   taken   out,    without   correcting   the 
lost  motion  or  knock,  their  shoulders  must 
be  dressed  either  in  a  shaper  by  a  machinist 
or  filed  true  so  that  they  can  be  set  snugly 
to  the  pin  they  inclose  and  yet  do  not  shoul- 
der by   from  one-eighth  to  a  thirty-second 
of  an  inch. 

353.  LINERS. — The  space    between    the    box 
shoulders    is   usually   filled    in   with  two    to 
four  thin  sheets  of  cardboard  or  wood  fiber, 
called  LINERS. 

354.  LINERS     REMOVED.— As    the    boxes 
wear  one  liner  at  a  time  is  removed  and  the 
nuts  on  the  boxes  set  up  a  little  closer. 

355.  SETTING  A  BOX.— Never  set  a  box  so 
close  as  to  bind  the  pin  or  shaft  it  encloses. 
But  set  it  close  enough  to  prevent  it  knock- 
ing.    Set   the   nuts,    holding   the    box,     up 
equally.     Bring     them     up     gradually     to- 


THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  95 

gether.  Never  set  one  up  tight  before 
bringing  the  other  up.  Don't  be  in  a  hurry. 
Don't  set  the  boxes  haphazard.  Try  the 
box  after  setting  by  turning  the  wheels 
over  to  see  if  it  works  tight  and  stiff.  If 
so,  it  is  too  tight.  Use  judgment,  other- 
wise you  will  have  a  ruined  box. 

356.  PINS  WORN  OUT  OF  TRUE  should 
be  calipered  and  dressed  round  again  with 
a  file,  or,  better,  put  into  a  lathe  and  trued 
up  with  a  tool  and  file.     This  refers  prin- 
cipally to  the  CROSSHEAD  or  PISTON 
PIN,  and  the  CRANK  PIN. 

357.  CUT  BOXES.— Scrape  the  box  or  file  it 
smooth  with  a  fine  file.     Do  the  same  with 
the  pin  by  dressing  off  all  the  ridges  and 
grooves. 

358.  HOT  BOXES.— Watch   all  the  bearing 
on   your   engine     closely,     especially     while 
new.     If    any    of    them  run  hot  stop    your 
engine  and  examine  carefully  for  the  cause. 
If  too  tight  loosen  it  up  a  little;  if  it  bears 
heavy  on  one  side  dress  the  point  carefully 
where  it  shows  the  most  wear;  if  a  burr  or 
high  point  on  the  shaft  or  pin  dress  it  down 
smooth,  but  don't  let  the  box  run  hot  very 
long  at  a  time. 

359.  RE-BABBITTING  A  BOX.— If  you  have 
never  seen  a  box  rebabbitted  you  had  better 
not   undertake    it   until   you   have   called   in 
some  one  who  has  had  experience   to    assist 
you.     But  if  your   judgment   is   good     and 


96  THE  PRACTICAL   GAS    ENGINEER. 

you  have  sufficient  confidence  in  your  abil- 
ity to  do  a  thing  properly  you  can  do  it 
alone.  The  principal  things  to  be  observed: 
Get  the  box  perfectly  level,  clean  out  all  the 
old  babbitt,  have  box  perfectly  dry,  adjust 
shaft  in  perfect  line  with  the  cylinder  and 
the  other  box  or  bearing  and  stay  it  thor- 
oughly so  it  will  not  be  jarred  out  of  place 
while  babbitting.  Cut  cardboard  to  fit 
around  the  shaft  and  the  ends  of  the  box, 
and  then  paste  the  cardboard  to  the  ends 
of  the  box  by  means  of  putty  or  clay,  and 
then  close  up  all  the  creases  with  it  where 
the  babbitt  might  run  out.  When  all  is 
ready  to  receive  the  metal,  which  should  be 
hot  enough  to  quickly  char  a  small  stick 
thrust  into  it,  put  a  piece  of  rosin  onto  the 
metal  and  pour  as  steadily  as  possible  into 
the  box.  Babbitt  only  half  of  the  box  at  a 
time. 

360.  PACKING.— The      cylinder    head      and 
valve  chambers  are  in  many  engines  packed 
onto  the  cylinder.     Probably    the  best    "all- 
round"  packing  to  use,  and  the  most  easily 
procured,    is    asbestos    sheeting    or    board. 
Some  builders  use  a  packing  called  RUB- 
BER ASBESTOS.     Asbestos  will  stand  the 
heat  better  than  any  other  packing  known. 

361.  LIME  DEPOSIT  IN  WATER  CHAM- 
BER.— Don't    let    water    chamber    become 
filled  with  lime  deposit.     Better  clean  it  out 
once  a  month  by  taking  off  Cylinder  Head 


THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  97 

and  scraping  the  jacket  free  from  lime. 

362.  If  you  are  called  on  to  clean  a  jacket  that 
is  well  filled  with  lime  and  difficult  to  re- 
move by   scraping,  the  Hot  Oil  process  of 
removing  the   lime   is,   we   think,   the    least 
injurious. 

363.  It. is  done  as  follows:  Drain  all  the  water 
from  the   jacket,   plug  the   lower  port   into 
the  jacket,  and  through  a  short    nipple    or 
pipe  in  the  upper  port  fill  the  water    space 
with  oil.     Then  run  tthe    engine  till  the  oil 
gets  boiling  hot.     Then    let  it    stand    over 
night  to  cool.     Heat  it  again  to  the  boiling 
point  next  morning  by  running  the    engine. 
Then  stop  .the  engine,  drain  off  the  oil  and 
let  the  engine  cool  off.     Then    start    your 
engine  with    water    turned  on,  and  run  for 
several    hours,    and    when    cooled  shut    off 
water    and    thoroughly     drain  off  /all     sedi- 
ment. 

364.  A    BURST    WATER    JACKET,    THE 
RESULT     OF    FREEZING.— No    matter 
how  much  is  said  or  written  in  the  way  i  of 
caution   about  draining  the  cylinder    jacket 
and  water  pipes,  carelessness  will  prevail   in 
some   instances     and   a   freeze-up,    bursting 
the  cylinder  jacket,  will  occur. 

365.  It  is  fortunate,  however,  that  the  cylinder 
itself  is  seldom  injured  by  these  freeze-ups. 
Usually  only  the    outer    casing  bursts,    and 
hence    does   not   interfere   with   the  success- 
ful running  of  the  engine. 


98  THE  PRACTICAL  GAS    ENGINEER. 

366.  When  the  exhaust    valve  chamber  is  wa- 
tered the  same  trouble  will  occur  with  it  if 
it  is  not  properly  drained. 

367.  When  a   freeze-up  occurs  it  results  usu- 
ally only  in  cracking  the  water  casing  and 
the  remedy  is  to  patch  it  and  go  ahead. 

368.  The  patching  is  done  as    follows :     Drain 
off  all  water,  plug  lower  pipe    connections, 
fill  jacket  with  a  salamoniac  solution    (one 
pound  to  a  gallon  of  water),  let  stand  thirty 
minutes,  drain  and  run  engine  five  minutes 
to  warm  jacket.     Stop  engine,    put  solution 
back   into   jacket    and    repeat   the    process 
three  or  four  times.     If  the  crack  is  not  too 
large  you  will  thus  form,  a  RUST  JOINT 
that  will  never  leak. 

369.  If  this  does  not    stop   the    leak,   take   an 
iron  plate,  long  enough  to  cover  the  crack, 
shape  it    to    the  cylinder,    drill  quarter-inch 
holes   along   each   edge    about    two    inches 
apart,  drill  and  thread  holes  into  the  cylinder 
wall     to     match,    lay    a   piece   of   candle 
wick,  well  saturated  with  white  lead,  on  the 
crack  and  bolt  the  plate  tightly  over  it  with 
one-quarter  inch  round-head  screws.     When 
using  this  method  it  is  best  to  chip  a  little 
crease  along  the  crack  to  receive  part  of  the 
wick. 

370.  HOW  TO  GRIND  A  VALVE.— As  has 
already  been  stated,  nearly    all    modern  gas 
engines  use    valves    of  the  poppet    variety. 
When    it    is    suspected  that  a  valve    needs 


THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  99 

grinding,  strip  the  stem  of  its  lock-nuts 
and  spring,  and  remove  the  cap  or  plug 
over  the  valve  pallet,  lift  it  out  and  exam- 
ine the  seat. 

371.  If  it  does  not  show  a  good  bright  bearing 
all  around  it  needs  grinding,  which  is  done 
as  follows:     Apply    lubricating   oil    to    the 
seat  of  the  pallet,    then    sprinkle    on    some 
flour  of  emery  and  drop  the  pallet  into    its 
seat.    The  top  of  the  valve  is  usually  creased 
to  receive  a  screwdriver  bit. 

372.  With  a  brace    and   bit   the  pallet   may  be 
turned  round    and    round    for    a  time    and 
then  back  and  forth  in  a  semi-circle.     Work 
it  this  way,  alternating  the  movements,  for 
•some  time.     Occasionally  lift  the  valve  pal- 
let slightly  from  its  seat,    let  it  drop  back 
and  repeat  the  grinding  movements. 

373.  When  the  valve  turns  without  any  appar- 
ent grinding    friction    take    it  out,    wipe    it 
clean,  examine  the  seat,  apply  more  oil  and 
emery,  and  put  it  through    another    course 
of  grinding. 

374.  This  process  may  have  to  be  repeated  a 
number  of  times,  but  don't  get  in  too  much 
of  a  hurry  to  get  through. 

375.  Two  hours  spent  industriously  on  a  valve 
may  prove  to  be  well  spent  and  time  saved. 

376.  When  a  good  bearing  seat  is  secured  wipe 
the  valve  pallet    and    stem,    as  well  as    the 
valve  seat  and  sleeve,    in  which    the    stem 
works,  entirely  free  from    emery,    oil    and 


100  THE   PRACTICAL   GAS   ENGINEER. 

grit.  Return  the  pallet  to  its  seat,  close  up 
the  valve  and  adjust  the  spring  and  lock- 
nuts  to  the  stem  ready  for  service. 

377.  In  handling  a  gas  engine  the  first  thing 
to  learn  is  "not  to  be  afraid  of  it."     There 
is  nothing  about  it  that  will  injure  or  hurt 
you    unless    you    allow    yourself  to    become 
careless. 

378.  Such  incidents  as  getting  arms,  legs  and 
clothes  caught  in  the  gear  shaft,  governor  or 
FLY-WHEEL  KEY,    while  the    engine  is 
running  are  results  of  pure  carelessness. 

379.  It  is  the  engineer's  duty  to  caution  others 
who  may  be  looking  at  his  engine  of  these 
dangers. 

380.  EXPLORING    THE     INTERIOR     OF 
THE    CYLINDER.— It   is    sometimes    nec- 
essary to  explore    the    interior    of    the    gas 
engine   cylinder  with   a  lighted   candle,   for 
the  purpose  of  locating  some  sharp  projec- 
tion, burnt  carbon,  crack  or  sand    hole,  etc. 
When    doing   this   always    remember   that   a 
CHARGE   OF   FUEL   may   remain   in   the 
cylinder,  and  whether  the  candle    is  insert- 
ed  through   one  of  the  valve   ports  or  the 
open  end  of  the  cylinder,  be   sure  to  keep 
YOUR  FACE  away  from  the  opening. 

381.  The  lighted  candle  will  ignite  the  charge, 
and  the    flash    through    the    open  port    may 
result  in  a  seriously  burnt  face.     The  can- 
dle is  usually  put    into  the  cvlinder  on  the 
end  of  a  long  sharp  pointed  wire  or  stick. 


THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  101 

HORSE  POWER  EXPLAINED. 

382.  Every  engine  uses  a  certain  per  cent  of 
its  total  power  to  drive  itself. 

383.  A.  H.  P.— ACTUAL  HORSE  POWER 
means  the  power  an  engine  has  to  spare  for 
driving    other    machinery    after  driving  it- 
self. 

384.  I.  H.  P.— INDICATED  HORSE  POW- 
ER is  A.  H.  P.  plus  the  power  an  engine 
requires  to  drive  itself. 

385.  TOTAL    POWER   of  an   engine   is   the 
same  as  is  its  I.  H.  P.     BRAKE  HORSE 
POWER,  B.  H.  P,  same  as  A.  H.  P. 

386.  If    an    engine    develops    on    Brake    Test 
seven  Brake  Horse  Power,  or  Actual  Horse 
Power,  and  it  takes    three    H.   P.  to  drive 
itself,  it  is  therefore  properly  called  a  TEN 
INDICATED  and    SEVEN    ACTUAL   or 
Brake  Horse  Power.     About  75  per  cent  of 
the  Indicated  power  should  be  available  for 
useful  or  actual  H.  P. 

387.  INDICATED   HORSE   POWER   is   de- 
termined by  an  instrument  called  an  INDI- 
CATOR attached  to  the  compression  cham- 
ber of  the  cylinder  which  is  capable  of  in- 
dicating   the    pressure  behind  the  piston  by 
tracings  on  a  card.     The    power  is  figured 
from  the  area  of  this  tracing,  as  follows : 

Multiply  the  area  of  the  piston  in  square 
inches,  by  the  mean  effective  pressure  in 
pounds  per  square  inch,  as  shown  by  the  card 


102 


THE   PRACTICAL   GAS   ENGINEER. 


tracing,  by  the  number  of  explosions  per 
minute,  by  the  length,  in  feet,  of  the  working 
stroke  of  the  piston,  and  divide  the  product 
by  33,000;  the  quotient  will  be  the  indicated 
horse  power. 

388.  BRAKE  TEST.— A  piece  of  belt  with 
liriwood  cleats  fastened  to  it  with  wood 
screws,  as  per  the  following  illustration,  will 


Method  of    Making  Break  Test 

serve  to  make  an  excellent  arrangement  for 
testing  brake  or  actual  horse  power. 
389.     On  each  end  of  this  brake  a  paint  bucket 
with  bail  or  handle  hung  onto  hooks  fast- 


THE  PRACTICAL  GAS  ENGINEER,  103 

ened  onto  the  ends  will  serve  to  hold  small 
stones  or  chunks  of  iron  with  which  to 
weight  the  brake  and  cause  sufficient  fric- 
tion. 

390.  This    weight    is  applied  until  the    engine 
is  pulling  all  it  will  pull  without  materially 
reducing  the   speed,    and    the    weights    on 
each  side  balance  or  hang  clear  of  the  floor. 

391.  The   engine   is  then  left    running    under 
its  load  for  from  ten  to  thirty  minutes,  dur- 
which    time   the    speed    is    counted   a   num- 
ber of  times,  to  determine  whether  the  en- 
gine holds  the  same  speed. 

392.  When  you  have  determined  the  same  speed 
for  some  time  the  test  may  be  concluded  by 
stopping  the  engine. 

393.  The  weights  on  each  end  are  then  weighed 
and  the  difference  in  pounds  is  the  number 
of  pounds  pulled  by  the  engine. 

394.  By  multiplying  the  CIRCUMFERENCE 
OF  THE  WHEEL,  IN  FEET,  by  the  num- 
ber of  pcunds  pulled,  by  the  number  of  revo- 
lutions per  minute,  and  dividing  this  product 
by  33,000,  the  result  will  show  the  Actual  or 
Brake  Horse  Power  of  the  engine. 

395.  EXAMPLE.— Diameter  fly    wheel    shown 
in  above  cut  thirty    inches,  or  two    and  a 
half  feet.    2>4x3.1416  equals  Cir.  7.85  ft. 

Cir.  Rev.      Lbs. 

7.85  ft.  x  300  x  52        ~7   , 
=  o/fl  n.  p. 

33,000 

396.  A  power  capable  of  raising  33,000  pounds 


104  THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER. 

one  foot  high,    in    one  minute,  equals    one 
horse  power. 

TO  START  A  GAS  ENGINE. 

397.     Don't  get  excited.    Go  slow.    Be  sure  you 
are  right,  then  proceed  as  follows : 

First — Clean  the  engine  and  all  wearing 
parts  thoroughly. 

Second — Oil  every  point  where  there  is 
any  friction,  EXCEPT  VALVE  STEMS 
and  SPARKER  SHAFT. 

Third — If  there  is  a  relief  or  starting 
lever  on  the  engine  set  it  so  as  to  relieve 
the  compression.  A  Pet  Cock  is  sometimes 
used  for  this  purpose  instead  of  a  lever.  It 
should  be  open. 

Fourth — Switch  in  Battery  current.  If 
tube  ignitor  is  used  the  flame  against  the 
tube  should  be  started  first  thing.  While 
the  tube  is  heating,  oil  up,  etc. 

Fifth — When  hot  enough  open  the  throt- 
tle valve  slightly  so  as  to  admit  a  light 
charge  of  fuel  when  the  engine  is  turned 
over.  REMEMBER  you  are  more  liable  to 
give  the  engine  too  much  fuel  in  starting 
than  not  enough. 

Sixth — Turn  the  fly  wheels  of  the  engine 
rapidly  forward  until  it  gets  an  impulse. 
Three  or  four  revolutions  should  be  enough. 

Seventh — After  the  engine  has  had  three 
or  four  impulses  and  gained  some  speed, 


THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  105 

throw  out  relief  lever  or  close  relief  Pet- 
Cock. 

Eighth — Start  oil  from  lubricating  cup 
on  cylinder.  Twenty  drops  per  minute  while 
engine  is  new.  Less  will  do  later  on. 

Ninth — Let  water  into  jacket  chamber 
from  water  supply. 

TO  STOP  A  GAS  ENGINE. 

398.  First — Shut  off  water  supply. 
Second— DRAIN        CYLINDER       AL- 
WAYS;   TAKE   NO   CHANCES   OF  A 
FREEZE-UP,  if  you  want  to  avoid  trouble. 

Third — Close  cylinder  oiler. 
Fourth — Shut  off  gas  or  gasoline. 
Fifth — Switch  out  the  battery  current. 
Sixth — Wipe  engine    clean    and    see    that 
it  is  in  good  shape  for  its  next  run. 

399.  While    cleaning    the    engine    after   each 
day's   run   notice   all   the    points   of   adjust- 
ment that  are  liable  to  need  attention  and 
see  that  all  nuts,  bolts  and  cap  screws  are 
tight  or  properly  set.  v  '*. 

400.  Notice  also  the  condition  of  the  crank  pin 
journal    and    other     bearings.      If    any    of 
them  are  hot,  locate  the  cause  of  the  heat- 
ing, and,  if  possible,  remove  it  before  start- 
ing the  engine  for  work. 


106  THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER. 


401.  Before  leaving  the  engine  for  the  night 
see  to  it  that  the  gas  or  gasoline  is  shut  off 
and  properly  confined  in  the  tank  or  pipes, 


THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  107 

that  the  battery  current  is  switched  out  and 
that  everything  is  in  apple-pie  order  for 
the  next  run. 

402.  The  illustration  on  the  previous  page  is 
intended,  in  a  general  way,  to  show  the  man- 
ner of  connecting  up  the  water,  exhaust  pipe 
and  battery  to  the  engine. 

403.  You  will  notice  the  bottom  of  the  cool- 
ing tank  is  about  on  a  level  with  the  inlet  to 
the  engine.     I  think  this  is  a  very  import- 
ant   point    to    remember.     It    is    better    to 
have  as  few  obstructions  as  possible  in  the 
water  connections,   where  a    natural    circu- 
lation is    expected.     Therefore    the    cooling 
tank   should   be   so  placed    that    the    water 
through  the  lower  pipe  to  the  engine  will 
flow  at  least  on  a  level    and    not  upward. 
There  are  no  objections  to  placing  the  tank 
above  the  engine. 

404.  It   is    also  well  to  observe   that  the  lower 
pipe  is  connected  a  few    inches    above    the 
bottom  into  the  side  of  the  tank,    thus    ar- 
ranging a  space    below    the    pipe    outlet  to 
collect  any   sediment    the    water    may  con- 
tain, which  would  otherwise  be  carried  into 
the   cooling   chamber   of   the    cylinder,    and 
tend  to  obstruct  it. 

405.  The    bottom    of    the    cooling  tank  should 
be  provided    with   a    drain    cock    or    plug, 
through   which   the   tank    may    occasionally 
be   drained  of  all  sediment  and  thoroughly 
cleaned. 


108  THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER. 

406.  The  cooling  tank,  exhaust  drum  and  bat- 
tery can  of  course  be  placed  and  connected  to 
suit  the  location  of  the  engine.  They  do  not 
need  to  occupy  the  positions  in  relation  to  the 
engine  as  shown  in  the  cut.     We  prefer  that 
exhaust  should  lead  straight  up  from  the  en- 
gine rather  than  downward,  as  shown  in  cut. 

407.  Place  them  where  they  are  most  conven- 
ient,  connecting  up  the  water  and  exhaust 
with  as  few  "L's"  and  turns  as  possible. 

408.  The  pump  and  gravity  feed  systems    for 
supplying  gasoline  to  the  engine  have  been 
fully  described,  as  also  the  method  of  pip- 
ing up  the  gas.     See  index. 

409.  GASOLINE,    BENZINE,    NAPHTHA, 
KEROSENE  and  the  kindred  hydro-carbons 
are  the  products  of  crude  mineral  oil. 

410.  They  are    separated    from   the    CRUDE 
OIL  by  a  process  of  distillation.     The  pro- 
cess is  very  similar    to    that  of  generating 
steam  from  water. 

411.  By  the  application  of  heat,    water    raised 
to  a  temperature  of  212  degrees  Fahrenheit 
changes  from  a  liquid  to  a  gaseous    state, 
called  steam.    This  conversion  is  only  tempo- 
rary.    If  steam  is  confined  and  cooled  to  a 
certain  point  it  will  quickly   return    to    its 
liquid  state,  water,  by  the  process  known  as 
condensation. 

412.  CRUDE     MINERAL  OIL  subjected  to 
heat  will  give  of!  in  the  form  of  vapor  such 
products    as    Gasoline,    Benzine,    Naphtha, 


THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  109 

etc.  The  degree  of  heat  at  which  these 
products  are  separated  are  comparatively 
low.  Various  degrees  of  heat  will  sepa- 
rate the  distinct  products.  As  a  means  of 
illustration,  we  will  say  that  crude  oil  raised 
to  a  temperature  of  110  degrees  gives  off 
vapor  which,  when  cooled,  will  liquefy  into 
what  is  known  as  naphtha,  benzine  at  125 
degrees,  and  gasoline  at  140  degrees.  These 
degrees  of  temperature  are  not  authentic — 
simply  used  to  illustrate. 

413.  After  these  lighter  products  are  separated 
there  yet  remains  the  thick,  oily  liquid  from 
which  the  various  lubricating  oils  are  pre- 
pared. 

414.  Paraffine    oil    is    one    of     the     principal 
products  of  crude  oil,  and  the  oily  sediment 
which    frequently    accumulates    in    the  bot- 
tom of  the  tank  or  can  in  which  gasoline  is 
confined  is  PARAFFINE  OIL,  which  dis- 
tils over  in  small  quantity  with  the  vapor  of 
gasoline. 

415.  This  oil  might  be  finally  separated  from 
the   gasoline  by   reconverting  it   into 'vapor 
several  times  and  carrying  it  as  such  into  a 
clean  retort  each  time. 

416.  It   should   be    remembered   that    gasoline 
that   is   practically   free   from   paraffine   can 
easily  be  adulterated  by  putting  it  into  un- 
clean   containers.     For    instance,    we    take 
chemically  pure  gasoline  and  put  it  into  a 
wooden  barrel  or  tank,  that  previously  con- 


110  THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER. 

tained  oil  which  had  not  been  cleaned,  it  is 
easy  to  understand  how  the  penetrating  quali- 
ties of  gasoline  acting  on  the  oil-soaked 
staves  will  extract  the  oil  particles  and  de- 
posit them  on  the  bottom  of  the  vessel  be- 
cause of  their  lower  specific  gravity.  In 
the  same  way  other  sediments  than  oil  may 
get  mixed  with  gasoline. 

417.  The    comparatively    low   degree    of    heat 
necessary  to  produce  gasoline  from  oil  makes 
it  a  fluid  that  is  very  volatile  and  easily  va- 
porized in  our  warm   summer  temperature, 
and,  therefore,  difficult  to  confine. 

418.  The  best  kind  of  a  tank  to  use  in  confining 
gasoline  is  made  of  well  soldered,  galvanized 
iron,  fitted  with  a  safety  valve,  which  will 
allow  escape  of  any  gas  that  may  accumulate 
to  a  certain  pressure  within  the  tank  during 
warm  weather. 

419.  A  tank  containing  gasoline  should    never 
be  so  placed  as  to  be  exposed  to  the  direct 
rays  of  the  sun.  This  is  done  with  many  gas- 
oline engine  supply  tanks,  and  the  result  is  an 
enormous  waste  of  gasoline  by  direct  vapori- 
zation, which  loss  is  generally  attributed  to 
over-consumption  by  the  engine,  very  much 
to  the  detriment  of  its  reputation. 

420.  The  object  of  burying  a  gasoline  tank  in 
the  ground  is  to  provide  a  cool  place  for  it, 
which   reduces    vaporization  to  a  minimum. 
The    way   this   is   ordinarily    done   is    BAD 
PRACTICE.     The  proper  way  to  do  it  is 


THE  PRACTICAL  GAS  ENGINEER.  Ill 

to  provide  an  underground  chamber  some- 
thing similar  to  a  cistern.  This  chamber 
should  be  large  enough  so  that  when  the 
tank  is  placed  in  the  center  there  is  room 
enough  all  around  it  to  admit  of  thorough 
inspection.  It  should  be  walled  up  with 
brick  and  cemented,  so  as  to  exclude  water, 
and  covered  in  such  a  manner  as  to  admit 
of  easy  access. 

421.  If  the  tank  is  to  be  placed  on  top  of  the 
ground  outside  of  the  building  in  which  the 
engine  is  located  it  should  be  protected  from 
the  heat  of  the  sun  by  putting  a  small  build- 
ing over  it. 

422.  Storing    gasoline    in  a  wooden    barrel  is 
not  economy  by  any  means.     The  wood  is 
porous  enough  to  allow  considerable  loss  by 
vaporization. 

423.  When  gasoline  is  exposed  to  air  that  is 
above  the  freezing  point  it  gives  off  a  vapor 
or  gas  which  mixes  or  blends  with  the  atmos- 
phere, and  if  exposed  long  enough  the  quan- 
tity so  exposed  will  all  disappear  or  pass  off 
into  the  air  in  the  form  of  vapor,  leaving  only 
the  paraffine  residue  or  other  sediment. 

424.  Several  manufacturers  of  gasoline  advise 
me  that  common  stove  gasoline  is  especially 
purified,  and  does  not  originally  contain  any 
residue. 

425.  It  would  therefore  appear  that  stove  gaso- 
line,   which  is    ordinarily  supposed    to    test 
about  74  degrees,  is  the  quality  best  adapted 


112  THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER. 

for  use  in  the  gasoline  engine,  although  the 
writer   has   knowledge    of    engine    running 
successfully   on    gasoline    testing    anywhere 
from  60  degrees  to  88  degrees. 

426.  DISTILLATE,  which  might  be  called  a 
low  grade   of   gasoline,   and    which    we    are 
advised  tests  about  55  degrees,  is  successfully 
used  to  operate  the  majority  of  gas  engines 
in  California. 

427.  Much  of  the  RESIDUE  or  oily  substance 
which  accumulates  in  the  bottom  of  a  gas- 
oline tank  is,  in  my  opinion,  due  to  the  use 
of  unclean  barrels  or  tanks  in  which   it  is 
confined  for  storage  or  shipping  purposes. 

428.  Another  method  of  getting  rid  of  this  oily 
substance  is  to  regard  it  as  so  much  "dirt" 
and  occasionally  pour  off  all  the  gasoline  and 
clean  the  container  thoroughly  from  all  sedi- 
ment. 

429.  Gasoline   engines   often   refuse   to  operate 
successfully    on    account    of    this    sediment 
blockading  some  part  of  the  supply  passage 
between  the  tank  and  the  engine. 

430.  Unfortunately    the    consumer    of    gasoline 
occupies  the  same  position  in  the  purchase 
of  gasoline  as  the  consumer  of  milk  does  in 
its  purchase.     They  both    buy  "dirt."     The 
only  difference  is  that  the  latter,  after  buy- 
ing it  is  expected  to  digest  it  as  well. 

431.  In  case  of  fire  due  to  gasoline,    use    fine 
earth,  flour    or    sand    on  top  of  the  burning 
liquid.     Never  use  water;  it  will  only  serve 


THE   PRACTICAL   GAS   ENGINEER.  113 

to  float  the  gasoline  and  consequently  spread 
the  flame. 

432.  GASOLINE  TANK  EXPLOSIONS  are 
often  due  to  a  pressure  within  a  tightly  closed 
container,  caused  by  high  temperature,  which 
vaporizes  or  gasifies  the  liquid  within. 

433.  The  changing  of  the  liquid  to  the  gaseous 
state  causes  expansion,    and  if  there  is  no 
vent  or  safety  valve  connection  the  pressure 
within  rises  to  a  point  sufficient  to  cause  an 
explosion. 


PART  VI. 


DYNAMOS  AND  MAGNETO  IGNITION. 
IN  GAS  AND  GASOLINE  ENGINES. 

434.  The  necessity  of  a  sure  method  of  igni- 
tion in  the  operation  of  Hydro-carbon  mo- 
tors cannot  be  overestimated.  I  may  safely 
say  that  more  trouble  arises  from  defective 
ignition  in  the  use  of  Hydro-carbon  engines 
than  from  all  other  causes  combined.  • 

The  importance,  therefore,  of  some  ar- 
rangement, device  or  mechanism,  capable  of 
constantly  generating  a  good  strong  current 
of  electricity,  with  the  least  possible  varia- 
tion in  its  constant  strength,  is  readily  ap- 
parent. A  good  current  properly  applied  is 
to  the  gas  engineer  what  quinine  was  to  the 
physician  in  malarial  times. 


114  THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER. 

435.  Experts  on  the  operation  of  gas  and  gas- 
oline  motors  are  very  particular  about  the 
igniting  apparatus  on  their  machines.  When 
called  to  a  motor  giving  trouble  they  will  at 
once  inquire  or  examine    into    the  ignition 
apparatus,  and  especially    the    electric    cur- 
rent   strength.     If     this     current     strength 
drops    below  a  certain    standard,    say    2l/2 
amperes  and   10  volts,  the  expert  suspicions 
that  the  current  strength  is  getting  low,  and 
he  searches  for  the  cause. 

A  high  amperage  and  low  voltage  may  ig- 
nite successfully.  Such  a  current  may  be  had 
from  a  battery  on  short  circuit.  A  five-cell 
Edison  Primary  Battery,  Type  "R,"  may 
show  on  short  circuit  15  amperes  and  only 
three  to  four  volts. 

436.  The  importance  with  which  reliable  igni- 
tion is  considered  may  be  demonstrated  by 
the  fact  that  a  well-equipped  automobile  or 
touring  car,  which  is  required  to  make  long 
and  continuous  runs,    usually  carries  a  bat- 
tery of  from  two  to  four  magneto  or  dynamo 
generators,  which  are  backed  up  by  a  couple 
of  good  fluid  or  storage  batteries,  so  that  in 
case  of  disability  of  one  of  the  generators 
the  current  from  another  may  be  switched 
in  immediately. 

437.  Of  the  different  methods  of  ignition  used 
on  Hydro-carbon  motors,  viz.:     Flame,  Hot 
Tube,  Catalytic  and  Electric,  the  latter  has 
easily  taken  the  lead,  and  is  the  one  with 


THE  PRACTICAL   GAS  ENGINEER.  115 

which  this  chapter  especially  deals.  Flame 
ignition  has  become  practically  obsolete. 
Tube  ignition  is  described  elsewhere  in  this 
work.  Also  electric  ignition  in  connection 
with  battery  current. 

438.  Catalytic  ignition  may  be  defined  as  igni- 
tion   or    combustion    resulting    from    high 
compression  pressure  within  the  combustion 
chamber.     This    method    is    winning     some 
advocates,  and  some  ingenious  devices    arc 
applied  to  accomplish  the  result.     The  com- 
bustion chamber  may  be  heated  by  torch  for 
the  purpose  of  igniting  the  first  charges  in 
starting.     After   the  motor  is   in    operation 
the  constant  firing  of  fresh  charges  within 
the  combustion  chamber  keeps  it  hot  enough 
to  explode  them  regularly  under  the  heavy 
compression  pressure. 

439.  The   popularity   which  the  electric  current 
enjoys  as  an  ignitor  is  the  stimulus    which 
is    bringing    out   many    new     and   valuable 
devices  for  generating    the    electric  current 
in  proper  strength  to  ignite  the  charges, 
under  the  greatest  variation  of  proportional 
gas  and   air  mixtures  allowable  in    Hydro- 
carbon motors. 

Those  devices  which  appeal  to  the  good 
judgment  of  gas  engine  operators  at  present 
are  known  as  dynamic  generators,  dynamo 
or  magnetic  ignitors. 

440.  The  dynamo  is  a    small    generator,    con- 
structed on  principles  similar  to  the  dyna- 


116          THE:  PRACTICAL  GAS  ENGINEER. 

mo  used  for  electric  lighting  purposes,  a 
miniature  machine  with  current  capacity 
only  sufficient  to  produce  a  good  strong 
igniting  spark  at  all  times.  Storage  and 
other  batteries  are  used  in  connection  with 
some  of  these  dynamos  for  starting  pur- 
poses. They  require  a  certain  speed  before 
they  will  generate  an  igniting  current.  This 
speed  must  not  vary  to  any  great  extent 
If  much  below  the  normal  the  current  will 
be  too  weak  for  igniting  purposes.  If  speed 
runs  above  the  normal  there  is  danger  of 
burning  out  the  field  windings.  Therefore, 
if  the  dynamo  were  set  at  a  speed  to  gen- 
erate an  igniting  current,  when  the  engine 
is  turned  over  by  hand,  it  would  quickly 
burn  out  its  field  coils  under  full  speed  of 
the  engine,  unless  some  governing  device 
were  used;  consequently,  the  engine  is  start- 
ed from  a  battery  current,  and  when  the 
dynamo  has  gained  a  generating  speed, 
which  is  attained  at  the  full  speed  of  the 
engine,  its  current  is  switched  onto  the  en- 
gine, and  the  battery  current  is  cut  out. 
441.  The  use  of  the  battery  for  starting  pur- 
poses is  one  of  the  objections  urged  by 
competitive  manufacturers  against  a  dyna- 
mo requiring  it,  and  if  only  superficially 
considered,  it  might  be  regarded  as  a  real 
objection.  The  only  adverse  claim  that  can 
be  urged  against  it  is  the  expense  of  main- 
taining a  battery  and  dynamo  both  at  the 


THE   PRACTICAL   GAS  ENGINEER.  117 

same  time;  but  when  it  is  remembered  that 
the  engine  or  motor  is  "the  power  behind 
the  throne"  of  whatever  machine  or  ma- 
chinery it  is  expected  to  operate,  and  that 
it  depends  for  its  good  behavior,  to  a  large 
extent,  on  a  good,  strong,  continuous,  week- 
in  and  week-out  electric  current,  and  that  we 
depend  almost  wholly  on  the  engine  to  ac- 
complish our  purpose,  I  regard  it  a  matter 
of  economy  rather  than  one  of  expense  to 
back  up  the  dynamo  with  a  good  elec- 
trical battery,  and  vice  versa,  so  that  in 
case  of  disability  of  the  one  we  may  have 
the  other  to  rely  on  during  the  time  which 
we  would  otherwise  be  shut  down  for  re- 
pairs. 

442.  There  are,  however,  generators  fitted 
with  ingenious  governing  or  speed  control- 
ling devices,  which  allow  a  generating  speed 
of  the  dynamo  when  the  engine  is  turned 
over  by  hand,  and  as  the  speed  of  the  en- 
gine increases  to  its  normal  the  governor  on 
the  dynamo  controls  it  by  keeping  it  within 
the  bounds  of  its  speed  limit.  * 

Such  an  outfit  is  designed  to  discard  all 
other  current  generators.  The  dynamo  is 
relied  upon  to  START  and  OPERATE  the 
engine  successfully  and  entirely  of  its  own 
accord. 

These  speed  controllers  on  igniting  dyna- 
mos are  in  the  most  instances  doing  the  work 
expected  of  them  in  a  thorough,  efficient  and 


118  THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER. 

satisfactory  manner,  and  can  be  considered 
perfectly  reliable. 

443.  In  addition  to  the  dynamo  generator  for 
igniting  purposes  there    is    another    gener- 
ator called  the  magneto,  which  is  extensively 
used  and  which  has  many  warm  advocates. 
The  magneto  depends  on  permanent  magnets 
for  exciting  fields.     It  has  no  field  windings 
and,  consequently,  the  danger  which  is  urged 
against  the  dynamo  of  burning  out  its  field 
windings  under  high  speeds,  is  obviated  in 
the  magneto.     It  is,  therefore,  susceptible  to 
much  greater  variation  of  speed  without  in- 
jury than  the   dynamo.     But   while  this  is 
true,  it  must  not  be  inferred  that  the  mag- 
neto is  without  disadvantages.    The  exciting 
magnets  may  lose  their  magnetism,   which, 
of  course,  means  that  they  would  fail  to  gen- 
erate a  current. 

444.  It  is  the    opinion    of   the    author    that    a 
machine,    whether  dynamo  or  magneto,   will 
give  the  best  service,    and  last  longer  at  a 
uniform  rate  of  speed    than  under  a  vari- 
able speed. 

445.  It  is,  of  course,  the  desire  of  all  manufac- 
turers to  develop    and    produce    a    machine 
that  will  as  readily  as  possible    adapt    itself 
to  the  various  conditions  which  it  may  en- 
counter, and  since  variation  in  speed  is  an 
adverse  condition  constantly  met  with  they 
have  given  the  matter  of  speed  special  at- 
tention by  reason  of  which  some  of  them 


THE   PRACTICAL  GAS  ENGINEER.  119 

may  be  led  to  make  extravagant  claims  for 
their  product. 

446.  Conservativeness   in   the   consideration   of 
the  excellent  points  claimed  by  each  manu- 
facturer is  the  safest  guide  to  the  purchaser. 
To  make  a  good  selection  one  should  care- 
fully    consider     the     advantageous     points 
claimed  by  different  manufacturers,  as  well 
as   the   disadvantages    urged    against    each 
other. 

When  you  have  made  your  choice,  back 
up  your  judgment  with  the  belief  that  you 
have  as  good  a  machine  as  the  market  af- 
fords, give  it  such  attention  as  a  good  ma- 
chine deserves;  study  its  parts  and  their 
action  until  you  are  intimately  acquainted 
with  its  makeup,  and  your  success  with  it  is 
assured. 

447.  Other  generators  on    the  market  might 
aptly  be  termed  Magneto-Dynamos,  or  a 
combination  of  dynamo  and  magneto. 

448.  This  construction  is  similar  to  a  mag- 
neto, with  the  exception  that  their  perma- 
nen  magnets  are  reinforced  by  field  wind- 
nent  magnets  are  reinforced  by  field  wind- 

449.  As    indicated    in    the    description    of    the 
dynamo  and  magneto,  the  former  depends  on 
its  field  from  which  its  current  is  generated; 
the  latter  depends  on  permanent  magnets  for 
the  generating  of  its  current.     The  rapidly 
revolving  armature  between  the  wound  fields 
of  the  former  excites  them,  and  a  current  is 


120  THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER, 

generated.  The  armature  revolving  rapidly 
between  permanent  magnets  in  the  latter 
generates  a  current. 

450.  A  current  of  electricity  passed  through  a 
wire  coil  around  a  piece  of  soft  steel  mag- 
netizes   the    steel.     Consequently,    the    field 
windings,    around    the    already    magnetized 
magnets,  or  permanent  magnets,  tend  to  in- 
tensify their  magnetism  and  keep  their  gen- 
erating qualities  up  to  a  high  standard.     It 
must,  therefore,  follow  that  such  an  arrange- 
ment would  obviate  the  loss  of  magnetism 
in  the  permanent  magnet,  an  objection  urged 
against  the  ordinary  magneto. 

451.  However,  it  might  be  well  to  state  in  this 
connection  that  if  this  machine  is  run  back- 
ward    it     will     demagnetize     its     magnets. 
Therefore,  the  reader  may  at  once  conclude 
that  there  is  an  objection  to  this  Magneto- 
Dynamo.     If  further  consideration  is  given 
the  matter  it  will  be  seen  that  there  is  no 
need  of  running  this  machine  backward.     In 
fact,  by  changing  two  wire  connections  be- 
tween the  field  coil  and  the  armature  pole 
the  backward  movement  above   referred   to 
becomes   forward.     Therefore,   the    machine 
is   easily   reversible,   and  will   run   in  either 
direction  and  generate  a  good  strong  cur- 
rent. 

452.  All  that  is  required  of  the  operator  is  to 
know  the  wire  connections  between  armature 
and  fields,   which   are  usually  plainly   illus- 


THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  121 

trated  and  described  in  an  instruction  sheet 
sent  with  the  machine. 

453.  Another  advantage  claimed  for  these  ma- 
chines is  that  the  magnet  or  field  windings 
serve  in  the  capacity  of  a  spark  coil,  which 
obviates  the  necessity  of  a  spark  coil,  and 
especially  so  if  the  generating  speed  can  be 
made  low  enough  to  ignite  the  charge  when 
turning  the  engine  wheels  over  by  hand,  as 
in  starting,  and  yet  not  injure  the  windings 
when  the  engine  is  at  its  full  speed,  which 
we  are  informed  is  easily  within  the  capacity 
of  the  generator. 

454.  Since  referring  to  the  spark  coil  we  de- 
sire to  say  that  it  has  been  in  use  as  a  nec- 
essary fixture  ever  since  electric  ignition  was 
introduced,   no   matter   what   the   source   of 
electric  current,  whether  storage,  dry  or  fluid 
battery,  Magneto  or  Dynamo.     For  the  ordi- 
nary   contact    or    touch    spark    a    SHORT, 
THICK  spark  coil  connected  somewhere  into 
the  circuit  will  produce  the  best  results. 

455.  For  JUMP  SPARK  ignition  an  especially 
designed  spark  coil  is  necessary,  called  the 
Jump  Spark  Coil.  ' 

456.  The    difference  in  operation  of  the  ordi- 
nary spark  coil  and  the  Jump  Spark  coil  is 
that  the   former  requires   a  make-and-break 
arrangement    which    produces    contact   and 
separation  of  the  terminal  points  within  the 
igniting  chamber. 

The  latter  produces  a  spark  or  succession 


122  THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER. 

of  sparks,  which  leap  through  an  air  space 
between  two  terminal  points,  without  con- 
tact of  these  points,  which  are  stationary,  and 
located  within  the  exploding  or  igniting 
chamber. 

457.  The  same  strength  of  electric  current  will 
produce  successful  ignition  with  either  coil, 
provided  the  coils  and  ignition  arrangement 
are  adapted  to  the  current.  In  further  ex- 
planation of  this  fact  I  might  add  that 
by  a  series  of  tests  we  produce  successful 
ignition  and  operation  of  a  gas  engine  by 
first  using  the  ordinary  spark  coil  with 
make-and-break  contact  within  igniting 
chamber  for  several  hours,  then  changing 
the  igniting  mechanism  to  the  Jump  Spark 
method  we  got  equally  good  results,  using 
the  same  battery  and  engine  with  both 
methods.  Similar  tests  with  magneto  cur- 
rent produced  a  successful  ignition  with 
either  method,  demonstrating  that  a  proper- 
ly constructed  battery  or  generator  produc- 
ing a  current  of  sufficient  magnitude  will 
successfully  ignite  the  charges  with  either 
the  contact  or  jump  spark  method.  How- 
ever, jump  spark  ignition  requires  a  current 
of  greater  amperage  than  is  necessary  with 
the  touch  spark  and  which  is  liable  to  de- 
stroy the  contact  points.  Hence,  builders 
of  magnetos  and  spark  machines  wind  their 
machines  a  little  different  for  a  jump  than 
a  contact  spark. 


THE  PRACTICAL  GAS  ENGINEER.  123 

458.  In    the    panorama  of  electric  ignition,  in- 
ventions,   improvements   and    advancements, 
the  changes  are  so  rapid  that  one  has  hardly 
time  to    stop    long    enough  to  describe  the 
newest    arrival    until    another,     for    which 
greater   claims    are    made,    appears    on    the 
scene.       HIGH     TENSION     GENERA- 
TORS are  now  in  use  which  are  designed 
to  produce  a  jump  spark  of  powerful  igni- 
tion qualities  without  the  introduction  of 
a  spark  coil  in  the  circuit.     It  is  claimed 
for  these  devices  that  the  current  is  taken 
from  the  dynamo  terminals  at  an  extreme- 
ly high  pressure,  directly    to     the     spark 
plug,  where  it  is  delivered  with  such  force 
as  to  enable  it  to  bridge  an  air  gap  of  an 
inch,  with  a  powerful,  hot,  flaming  spark. 
The  high-tension  magneto  is  very  effective 
and  popular  in  automobile  ignition  service 
at  this  time. 

459.  Leaving    the    reference    to    what    appear 
to  the  author  to  be  the  most  reliable  igniting 
generators  now  on  the  market  we  will  at- 
tempt to  devote  a  few  pages  to  the  care  and 
successful  handling  of  these  little  machines. 
I  desire  to  say  as  a  word  of  caution,  that  it 
is  not  well  to  condemn  a  generator  or  mag- 
neto because  the  engine  to  which  it  is  con- 
nected goes  dead  under  its  current  or  even 
its    lack    of    current.     The   little   generator 
may    be    all    right,    even    if  it  produces  no 
current  at  all.     If  the  engine  goes  out  of 


124  THE   PRACTICAL   GAS   ENGINEER. 

operation  apparently  of  its  own  accord  be 
sure  that  you  determine  whether  the  trouble 
is  with  the  generator  or  not.  If  a  battery 
is  used  in  connection  with  this  generator, 
and  the  engine  starts  off  and  runs  success- 
fully from  the  battery,  but  goes  down  when 
the  generator  current  is  switched  in,  then  it 
is  reasonably  certain  that  the  generator 
or  the  wire  connections  between  it  and  the 
engine  are  at  fault,  not  necessarily  so,  how- 
ever. Some  generators  require  a  little  time 
after  starting  to  pick  up  or  saturate  their 
fields,  before  which  a  current  is  not  gener- 
ated. And  if  the  engine  is  started  on  the 
battery,  and  switched  onto  the  dynamo  be- 
fore it  has  had  time  to  pick  up,  the  engine 
will  stop;  therefore  it  is  always  well  to  run 
on  the  battery  for  a  few  minutes  before 
switching  in  the  current  from  the  generator. 
460.  Under  these  conditions  should  it  fail, 
LOOK  FOR  LITTLE  THINGS,  before 
giving  up  in  despair.  I'll  relate  an  actual 
occurrence.  It  may  help  you.  Mr.  M — 
had  worked  all  day,  up  to  4  P.  M.,  trying 
to  get  his  engine  started  from  his  generator. 
(He  had  no  battery.)  At  4  P.  M.  we  an- 
swered his  call  for  help,  and  found  him  ir- 
ritable, damning  the  dynamo  and  denounc- 
ing it  as  a  fraud.  Inside  of  two  minutes  we 
found  one  of  the  brushes — two  at  opposite 
points  of  the  commutator,  you  know — by 
reason  of  dirt  accumulation,  got  stuck  in 


THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  125 

the  brush  holder,  and  could  not  touch  the 
commutator.  Took  it  out,  cleaned  it,  and 
also  the  other  one,  rubbed  the  commutator 
a  little,  turned  the  engine  over,  and  off  it 
went.  Don't  let  this  happen  to  you. 

461.  Later  on  the  same  fellow  literally  soaked 
the    dynamo   in   oil   in    his  effort  to  give  it 
sufficient  lubrication.     The  result,  of  course, 
was    another    shutdown,    fit    of    anger,    and 
general  condemnation  of  the  spark  genera- 
tor.    Cleaning  and  wiping  off  the  surplus  oil, 
again  started  it  off  in  good  shape.     This  fel- 
low   was    constantly    overlooking    the    little 
things,  and  believed,  as  some  one  told  him, 
that  his   armature  was  burned  out,  or  that 
the  magnets  had  lost  their  magnetism. 

462.  Nearly  all  of  these  little  machines  are  fitted 
with  wick  oilers,  and  they  need  to  be  sup- 
plied with  oil  every  three  or  four  days  and 
only  a  little  at  a  time. 

463.  The  ends  of  the  brushes  which  are  in  con- 
tact with  the  armature  sometimes  need  to  be 
touched    up   with   a    fine   file  to  clean  them 
from   dirt   accumulations.     The   comjmitator 
can  be  cleaned  with  fine  emery  cloth  waste 
or  chamois  skin,  while  in  motion. 

464.  If  the  brushes  wear  off  and  get  too  short, 
so  that  the  springs  which  hold  them  to  the 
commutator  can  no  longer  hold  them  firmly, 
new  ones  should  be  put  into  the  brush  hold- 
ers.    We  found  in  one  instance  that  the  little 


126  THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER. 

pulley    was    loose    on  the   armature  shaft, 
which  caused  trouble  for  some  time/ 

465.  If  you  ever  have  occasion  to  remove  the 
armature  from  a  magneto,  be  sure  that  you 
protect  the  magnets  by  putting  a  small  iron 
bar  across   the  open  ends  of  the  magnets. 
This  makes  the  connection  between  the  open 
ends    of    the    magnets    and    preserves    their 
magnetism,  which  they  would  otherwise  lose. 

466.  It  is  also  well  to  guard  against  running 
these   little   generators   backward.     Magnet- 
ism in  some  of  them  may  be  lost  thereby, 
and  they  may  be  otherwise  injured.     If  one 
of  thttm  has  its  field  windings  burned  out, 
or  has  lost  its  magnetism,  it  is  best  to  send 
it  to  the  manufacturers  for  repairs. 

467.  Sometimes     the     insulation     around     the 
brush  holders  get  damp  and  causes  trouble. 
Removing  it  and  drying  it,  by  either  wiping 
it  dry  or  baking  it  in  a  dry  heat  for  a  short 
time,   will  overcome  the   trouble   and   cause 
the  generator  to  work  successfully  again. 

468.  Above  *all,  we  would  advise  any  one    in- 
stalling one  of  these  little  generators  to  pro- 
vide it  with  an  absolutely  clean  place,  and 
one    which    can    easily    be    kept    clean.      It 
should  be  so  located  that  no  oil  from  the  en- 
gine or  ether  machinery  can  be  spattered  on 
it.     It   should   be   excluded    from   dust   and 
dampness  by  incasing  it  in  a  roomy  box  if 
the  room  in  which  it  is  placed  is  at  all  ex- 
posed to  dust,  dirt  or  dampness. 


THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  127 

469.  If  the  friction  wheel  is  used  on  the  gen- 
erator  for   driving   purposes,    it    (the   gen- 
erator)  should  be  set  so  that  the  little  fric- 
tion wheels  sets  squarely  against  the  face  of 
the  fly-wheel  of  the  engine  and  so  that  it  is 
in  direct  line  with  the  fly-wheel.     Otherwise, 
the  face  of  the  little  friction  pulley  would 
soon  wear  out  of  true  and  cause  trouble.     It 
should  also  be  set  up  snug  enough  against 
the  fly-wheel  to  insure  a  generative  speed  of 
the  generator  when  the  engine  is  running  at 
its  normal  speed. 

470.  The  easiest   way  to  operate   a   generator 
successfully  is  to  keep  its  parts  and  surround- 
ings perfectly  clean  and  dry. 

If  you  will  do  this,  you  will  seldom  have 
occasion  to  correct  what  might  otherwise 
appear  to  be  the  fault  of  the  generator. 
Dampness  and  Dirt  are  the  direct  enemies 
of  the  successful  running  of  the  generator. 
Lubricating  oil  -becomes  dirt  when  used  to 
freely. 

471.  If    copper   wire    brushes    are    used,    they 
should  be  soaked  in  oil  occasionally  to  pre- 
vent their  cutting  off  the  commutator. 

Carbon  brushes  will  not  cut  the  com- 
mutator, but  may  become  glazed,  which  will 
prevent  a  reliable  contact.  The  ends  should 
be  filed  off  to  a  new  surface. 


128  THE   PRACTICAL   GAS   ENGINEER. 

PART  VII. 


AUTOMOBILE  AND  MOTOR  BOAT  EN- 
GINE TROUBLES. 

472.  It  would  not  be  possible  in  this  or  any 
number     of     chapters     to    point    out    every 
trouble  that  may  be  encountered  with  a  Boat 
or  Automobile  gasoline  motor.     But  we  hope 
to  here  enumerate  some  of  those  most  com- 
monly met  with  and  to  give  such  hints  as 
may  be  of  real  value  to  the  person  in  charge. 

473.  VAPORIZERS.— Owing   to   the   variable 
speeds    required    in    motors   on   automobiles 
and  boats  the  float  feed  carbureters  are  con- 
sidered    necessary.      They     are     a     fruitful 
source  of    trouble,    especially    in    starting. 
They  are  not  always  ready  when  the  oper- 
ator    is.      Sometimes    they    need    flushing. 
That  is  pressing  down  the  float  to  let  more 
gasoline  run  in  so  as  to  flood  the  spray  noz- 
zle.    One  must  be  sure  that  gasoline  comes 
down  when  he  depresses  the  float.     If  not 
the  float  needle  inlet  or  pipe  from  the  tank 
may  be  clogged  or  there  may  be  no  FUEL  in 
the  tank. 

474.  One  of  the  first  things  an  operator  should 
know   is   the   details   of    the    carbureter  on 
his  engine  and  just  how  it  is  designed  to 
perform    its    function.     Familiarity    with    it 
will  enable  him  to  quickly  locate  the  cause 


THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  129 

of  any  trouble  with  it.  Something  may  go 
wrong  with  the  float  or  its  needle  point.  It 
may  not  shut  off  the  gasoline  properly. 
This  will  flood  the  vaporizer  and  the  mix- 
ture will  be  too  rich  and  will  not  ignite. 

475.  Carbureters  with  spring    valves    and    air 
throttles  may  go  wrong  in  the  mechanism 
sustaining  those  parts  and  they  will  not  ad- 
just themselves  to  the  conditions  met  until 
the  cause  is  removed. 

476.  The  vaporizer  to  all  appearances  may  be 
working  all  right  and  yet  the  engine  refuse 
to  go.     Look  for  a  leak  in  the  inlet  passage 
BETWEEN  the  CARBURETER  and  EN- 
GINE.    Maybe  a  packing  blown  out  or  hole 
somewhere  letting  in  air. 

477.  WATER  in  the  gasoline?    Yes!     It  has 
often  caused  no  end  of  trouble  and  a  few 
drops  go  a  long  ways  in  ruffling  the  feelings 
of  even  a  good  patient  operator.     Every  sup- 
ply  pipe   leading  to   the   carbureter    should 
be  fitted  with  a  trap  where  the  water  or  sedi- 
ment may  collect  before  reaching  the  vapor- 
izer.    This  trap  should  be  cleaned  often. 

478.  There  may  be  plenty  of  gasoline  *in   the 
tank  and  yet  none  appear  at  the  vaporizer. 
An  automobile  may  be   standing  on  an  in- 
cline so  that  the  vaporizer  is  higher  than  the 
.gasoline   in   the   tank.     If   this   condition   is 
found    and    corrected    and    still  there  is  no 
gasoline  at  the  vaporizer,  blow  into  the  tank 
and  endeavor  thereby  to  dislodge  any  plug 


130  THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER. 

or  occlusion  in  the  pipe.  If  this  is  not  effec- 
tive the  pipe  between  the  tank  and  the  vap- 
orizer should  be  taken  down  and  every  joint 
and  union  should  be  carefully  looked  into  or 
at  least  LOOKED  THROUGH  to  see  if 
there  is  a  clear  opening  from  one  end  to  the 
other. 

479.  Gasoline  will  not  vaporize  equally  well  in 
every  carbureter    in    cold  weather,    and    in 
some  cases  the  engine  is  hard  to  start  on  ac- 
count of  cold  weather.     Then  warming  the 
engine    cylinders,     better    the     interior,     by 
means   of   a   plumber's  blow   torch  through 
some  of  the  plug  ports  to  the  combustion 
chamber,  will  invariably  remove  the  cause  of 
this  trouble. 

480.  If  the  writer  had  occasion  to  use  a  boat  or 
automobile  in  cold  weather  a  gasoline  pres- 
sure blow  torch  would  certainly  be  one  of 
the  articles  of  my  equipment,  along  with  a 
box  of  matches.    A  flame  from  it  can  be  di- 
rected  to   any  part  of  the   engine   or  inlet 
pipes  or  carbureter.     It  becomes  useful    for 
a  variety  of  warming  purposes  on  a  cold  day 
miles  away  from  a  good  warm  fire. 

481.  If  no  torch  is  at  hand,  filling  the  engine 
jacket  with  hot  water  will  answer  the  pur- 
pose, or  a  red  hot  iron  poked  into  the  mouth 
of  the  air  inlet  while  cranking  the  engine. 

482.  Trouble  sometimes  arises  because  of  want 
of  proper  suction  force  through  the  vapor- 
izer.    The  inlet  passage  may  be  choked  or 


THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  131 

the  airlift  valve,  where  one  is  used,  may 
stick  or  its  spring  may  be  too  stiff.  If  there 
is  anything  wrong  with  the  exhaust  valve, 
allowing  a  leak  at  that  point,  the  air  will  be 
drawn  into  the  cylinder  through  the  exhaust 
instead  of  through  the  vaporizer.  When 
trouble  is  experienced  in  starting,  the  suc- 
tion through  the  vaporizer  should  always  be 
tested. 

483.  While  it  is  absolutely  necessary  for  one  to 
thoroughly  familiarize  himself  with  the  vap- 
orizer it  is  infinitely  more  important  that  he 
should   understand  'every  detail  of  the   IG- 
NITING APPARATUS,  because  here    is    where 
the   large  percentage    of    troubles    emanate 
from  in  motor  boat  or  automobile  engines. 
There  really  is  no  end  to  the  variety  of  ap- 
parently trivial  causes  that  may  knock  out 
successful   ignition,  and  when  ignition  fails 
it  is  "all  off"  until  the  trouble  is  corrected. 

484.  Engines  for  motor  purposes  are  equipped 
either  with  the  hammer-brake  spark  mech- 
anism   or    with    the    jump   spark   ignition 
method. 

485.  In  either  case  electric  battery  magneto  or 
dynamo  may  be  used  to  generate  the  current 
necessary  to  make  the  igniting  spark,  con- 
sequently  the   source  or   generator    of    the 
current  is  a  most  important  item  for  con- 
sideration. 

486.  We  believe  a  motor  boat  or  automobile 
should  always  carry  what  unight  be  known 


132  THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER. 

as  plenty  of  reserve  generators.  By  this  we 
mean  that  it  is  wise  for  any  motorist  to  go 
prepared  to  avoid  trouble  or  rather  meet  and 
overcome  it.  If  batteries  are  used  an  extra 
set  should  always  be  carried  to  meet  emer- 
gencies. If  any  of  the  variety  of  generators 
on  the  market  is  supplying  the  current,  a 
dry  battery  might  help  out  at  the  most 
critical  time. 

487.  A  generator  connected  to  a  storage  bat- 
tery   would   seem   proof   against   emergency 
troubles.     But, there  are  instances  where  the 
boat    is     left   to   the   mercy    of   the   waves 
and     the     automobile    becomes     inactive    in 
some   lonely   spot  on  the  country   road   for 
want  of  a  reserve  generator.     A  dynamo  <or 
magneto    may    go    wrong    mechanically    or 
electrically  almost  instantly.     A  storage  bat- 
tery may  not  have  been  as  fully  charged  as 
supposed.     A  dry  battery  may; have  lost  a 
part  of  its  generating  energy  on  account  of 
age,  or  is  too  nearly  exhausted  from  constant 
use   to  be  depended   on   for  a  venturesome 
trip.     The  same, may  be  true  of  any  type  of 
battery  adopted. 

488.  It  is  indeed  wise  for  one  in  trouble  NOT 
TO  FORGET  the  source  of  his  igniting  cur- 
rent.    He  should  learn  how  to  test  batteries. 
A  combination  volt  and  ammeter  is  an  ex- 
cellent instrument  to  carry  in  the  vest  pock- 
et  for  testing  the   strength   of  the  battery. 
From  8  to  10  volts  and  10  to  25  amperes  is 


THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  133 

good.  When  the  amperage  drops  below  15 
trouble  may  be  expected  soon.  In  fact  when 
the  writer  finds  his  battery  below  12  am- 
peres, especially  if  a  dry  battery,  he  doesn't 
feel  safe  with  it  unless  he  has  something  in 
reserve  to  fall  back  upon. 

489.  There  are  writers  who  recommend  6  or  8 
amperes  as  sufficient.     Our  experience  tells 
us  that   this    is    too    low  for  reliable    jump 
spark  work  and   we  are  inclined  to  advise 
from  15  to  20  amperes  for  jump  spark. 

490.  The   hammer-break   spark,   which   is   also 
known   as   the   TOUCH   SPARK,    can    be 
worked    successfully   on   a   lower   amperage 
than  the  jump  spark.  We  are  firm  believers 
in   PLENTY   of   ignition   ammunition   and 
we  want  it  GOOD  and  STRONG  all  of  the 
time,  consequently  prefer  a  higher  amperage 
than  necessary  rather  than  one  that  is  just 
a  shade  too  low  to  work  the  coil  successfully. 

491.  Dry  batteries  are  now  offered  that  show 
(in  each  cell)  from  25  to  30  amperes.   Much 
is  claimed    for    them    on    successful    jump 
spark  ignition.     But  if  you  have  6  cells  con- 
nected in  series,  each  separately  showing  25 
amperes,  you  must  not  expect  the  series  to 
show   six   times  25,  or   150  amperes.     The 
series   will   show   25   amperes   same   as   the 
single   cell.     But   if   each    cell    shows     \l/2 
volts,  6  cells  will  show    9    volts  in    series. 
Storage   batteries   need   onty   be   tested   for 


134  THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER. 

voltage,  and  each  cell  should  show  from  1.7 
to  2.1  volts. 

492.  Every  person  taking  charge  of  an  engine 
should   seek  to  know  at  once  whether  the 
engine  he  is  to  handle  is  fitted  with  a  make 
and  break  or  jump  spark  mechanism  and 
then  familiarize  himself  as  fully  as  possible 
with  it. 

493.  The    principal    differences     between     the 
two  methods  of  ignition  are  that  the  HAM- 
MER  BREAK  METHOD  has  its  contact 
points  that  make  and  break  the  circuit,  in- 
side of  the  cylinder,  in  the  ignition  cham- 
ber, a  simple  primary  spark  coil  and  only 
two  wires   that  connect  the   battery  to  the 
engine. 

494.  The  JUMP  SPARK  METHOD  has  its 
make  and  break  mechanism  on  the  outside, 
usually  on  the  cam  shaft  or  on  a  rod  driven 
from  the  camshaft.     In  a  two-cycle  the  cir- 
cuit breaker   may  be   right    on    the    crank 
shaft  or  on   a   shaft  that  is   driven  at   the 
same  speed  as  the  crank  shaft.     An  inter- 
rupter or  vibrator  on  the  coil  and  at  least 
three  wire  connections  with  the  engine. 

495.  One   can   test  the   hammer  break  igniter 
for  trouble  by  detaching  the  wire  from  the 
insulated    electrode   and   brushing   the   bare 
end  of  the  wire  off  some  bright  metal  part 
of  the   engine   when   the   current   switch  is 
closed.     If  the  battery  or  generator  is  pro- 
ducing a  good  current  and  there  is  no  short 


THE  PRACTICAL  GAS  ENGINEER.  135 

circuit  between  the  battery  and  engine  a 
BRIGHT  FLASH  or  SPARK  is  seen  at 
the  point  of  slipping  off.  And  if  this  oc- 
curs regularly  any  short  circuit  between  the 
battery  and  engine  can  be  excluded. 

496.  If   the  batteries   test   up  well   in   voltage 
and  amperage  one  can  feel  assured  that  the 
trouble  has  its  source  in  the  engine  and  not 
in  the  battery  coil  or  wiring  up  to  the  en- 
gine.    But  if  brushing  off,  from  some  bright 
part  of  the  engine,  the  bare  end  of  the  wire, 
with  the  other  wire  attached  to  its  binding 
post,  does  not  produce  a  spark  or  only    a 
very    faint    one,    then    a    weak    battery,    a 
broken  down  spark  coil  or  a  short  circuit 
somewhere   in  the  wire  or  battery  connec- 
tions should  be  suspected  and  looked  for. 

497.  When,  however,  the  spark  is  good  at  the 
slipping  off  point,  push  the  contact  points 
together  and  brush  the  end  of  the  wire  over 
the  outer  end  of    the    insulated    electrode. 
This   should  make  a   good   spark.     If    not, 
something  is  wrong  on  the  inside  and  pos- 
sibly the  points  are  not  in  contact  as  sup- 
posed. 

498.  On    the    other    hand,    when    the    contact 
points  STAND  APART  as  they  should,  ex- 
cepting when  brought  together  by  mechan- 
ical action,  there  SHOULD  BE  NO  SPARK 
when  the  wire  is  slipped  off  the  end  of  the 
insulated  electrode.     If  there  is  a  spark  it  is 
a  sure  sign  that  there  is  a  short  circuit  be- 


136  THE   PRACTICAL   GAS   ENGINEER. 

tween  the  electrodes,  either  by  bridged  car- 
bon across  the  inner  end  of  the  insulation,  a 
small  metal  bridge  outside  or  in,  or  a  broken 
insulation. 

499.  Sometimes  a  worn  condition  of  the  mech- 
anism which  actuates  the  movable    contact 
point   will   prevent   its   making   a   firm    and 
complete  contact,  consequently  no  ignition 
can  occur.     The  separation  spring  may  be- 
come so  weak  or  out  of  adjustment  as  to 
allow  a    constant    contact     of     the     points, 
which   may   not   prevent   an   igniting  spark, 
but  it    is    extremely    wasteful     of     battery 
strength.        It   allows     a    constant     current 
which  wears  out  the  life  of  the  battery  in 
short  order. 

500.  Sometimes  a  broken  wire,  within  the  in- 
sulation,  causes  trouble,  and  the  only  way 
to  test  it  is  to  string  a  new  wire  along  the 
side    of    the    suspected    one,    touching  both 
ends  of  the  connections.     If  a  spark  results 
by  the  spark  test  it  indicates  the  old  wire 
is   at   fault.     But   if   there  is   no  spark  the 
other  wires  should  be  suspected  and  tested 
in  the  same  way. 

501.  When  jump  spark  ignition  is  in  use  one 
should  be  sure  that  he  understands  the  pri- 
mary and  secondary  circuits  and  their  use. 
The  jump  spark  coil,  while  wound  around 
the  same  core,  has  two  coils  that  are  prac- 
tically   independent     of    each    other.       The 
primary  coil  is  wound   immediately  around 


THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  137 

the  core  or  bundle  of  soft  wires  and  con- 
sists of  a  single  piece  of  insulated  wire 
wound  closely  in  layers  one  on  top  of  the 
other,  and  when  completed  each  end  of  this 
wire  is  attached  to  a  binding  post  from 
which  the  wire,  transmitting  the  current, 
are  carried  to  the  battery  and  engine. 

502.  This     is     known     as     the     primary      coil 
through  which  the  current  from  the  battery 
runs.     The  coil  is  covered  with  a  hard  rub- 
ber tube  slipped  over  the  coil.     Around  this 
tube  is  wound  the  layers  of  the  secondary 
coil.     The  hard  rubber  tube  completely  in- 
sulates and  separates  the  primary  from  the 
secondary   coil.     They   have   no   metal   con- 
nection and  are  made  of  two  different  sizes 
and  pieces  of  wire. 

503.  The  vibrator  is  attached  to  the   primary 
circuit  and   so  also  is   the   CONDENSER, 
which   is   an  arrangement  on  the   inside  of 
the  coil  case  or  box.     The  jump  spark  coil 
is    sometimes   erroneously    called    the    con- 
denser. 

504.  When    the    current    from  the  battery    is 
started   through   the    primary   coil   k   mag- 
netizes the  core,  the  end  of  which  attracts 
the  vibrator  hammer  to  it.     This  pulls  the 
vibrator   away    from   the   point   of   the   ad- 
justing screw  over  which  the  current  passed, 
and    the    instant    the  vibrator  spring  leaves 
this  point,  the  circuit  is  broken,  the  core  is 
demagnetized,   consequently    no    longer    at- 


138  THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER. 

tracts  the  vibrator,  which  being  released 
drops  back,  on  account  of  the  spring  ten- 
sion, against  the  same  point  again  making 
the  circuit,  magnetizing  the  core  and  pull- 
ing the  vibrator  away  from  the  connection. 

505.  By  this  automatic  make  and  break  arrange- 
ment the  vibrator  is  in  violent  action  contin- 
ually, causing  what  is  known  as  an  interrup- 
ted current  in  the  primary  coil. 

506.  This  vibrating  or  interrupted  current,  in 
the  primary,   causes  an  induced   current  of 
high  voltage  and  consequently  high  tension 
in  the  secondary  coil. 

508.  The  wire  from  the  secondary  coil  carry- 
ing this  high  tension  current  is  attached  to 
the  spark  plug,  consequently  it  is  the  high 
tension    secondary    current     that     actually 
makes    the    spark.       The     primary     current 
from  the  battery  does  not  reach  the  spark 
plug  at  all. 

509.  At  this  point  where  the    vibrator    spring 
comes  in  contact  with  the  adjusting  screw 
there   are  platinum  points,  and  when  there 
is    sparking    at   this    point    it    indicates    that 
the  condenser  is  out  of  order.     When  sus- 
pecting trouble  with  the  coil  one  should  al- 
ways  listen    for  the  buzz   of    the    vibrator 
when  turning  the  engine  over. 

510.  If  it  vibrates  strongly  at  every  make  the 
trouble  must  be  looked  for  in  the  secondary 
circuit,  possibly  in    the    spark    plug.       Re- 
move the  plug  and  lay  it  on  some  bright 


THE  PRACTICAL  GAS  ENGINEER.  139 

metal  part  of  the  engine  with  the  high  ten- 
sion wire  attached  to  its  binding  post  and 
turn  the  engine  over  until  the  circuit 
breaker  makes  the  contact,  then  there  should 
be  a  buzzing  of  the  vibrator  and  a  stream 
of  sparks  between  the  points  on  the  plug. 
A  short  circuit  should  be  looked  for,  either 
about  the  spark  plug  or  along  the  high  ten- 
sion wire. 

511.  Sometimes  if  the  high  tension  wire  hangs 
near     the     earth     the     current     will     jump 
through  the  insulation  to  reach  the  ground. 
Any   moisture   about   the   plug   is   likely   to 
cause  a  short  circuit.     The  plug  should  be 
thoroughly  cleaned  and  show  a  good  spark 
at  the  terminal  point  before  it  is  screwed  in 
place  again. 

512.  When  the  vibrator  fails  to  buzz  either  the 
adjusting  screw  is  set  up  too  close  or  there 
is  something  wrong  with  the  primary  circuit 
or  the   current   is  too   weak.     There  are  a 
number  of  points  in  the  primary  circuit  that 
may  get  out  of  order,  especially  about  the  cir- 
cuit breaker. 

513.  The  set  screw  holding  the  contact  points 
to  the  revolving  shaft  may  get  loose  or  the 
springs   supplying  the   contact   tension   may 
get  weak  or  loose.     The  vibrator  and  circuit 
breaker  points  should  be  kept  clean.     It  is 
always  well  to  be  sure  that  there  is  a  good 
contact  at  the  circuit  breaker.     The  adjust- 
ing screw  should  be  so  set  to  the  vibrator 


140  THE   PRACTICAL   GAS   ENGINEER. 

as  to  cause  it  to  vibrate  at  the  highest  speed. 
This  can  be  determined  by  the  rapidity  of 
the  vibrating  sounds  heard. 

514.  The  power  of  the  engine  is  largely  de- 
pendent on  the    cylinder    COMPRESSION, 
mixture  and  spark  being  in  good  condition. 
Consequently  the  compression  is  an  import- 
ant  guide.     Compression   depends   on    good 
acting  qylinder  rings,  good  valves  and  a  tight 
cylinder  in  general. 

515.  If  the   engine   loses   its   compression   and 
turns  easy  over  the  compression  stroke  look 
out  for  leaks  either  through  the  piston  rings, 
valves  or  sparker  parts.     A  leak  can  usually 
be     detected    by    having    some     one    turn 
the    engine     onto    the    compression    slowly 
while  the  operator  has  his  ear  near  the  point 
of  suspected    leak.       A    hissing  or  blowing 
sound  will   be  heard  when   the  compressed 
air    is    escaping.     After    locating   the    point 
of  lost  compression  the  remedy  ought  to  be 
apparent  to  any  one. 

516.  If  the  valve,  either  exhaust    or    inlet,    is 
leaking,  determine  whether  it  leaks  because 
of  a  dirty  or  corroded  seat,  or  whether  the 
valve  pallet  or  seat  is  cracked.     If  the  loss 
is  by  the  rings  it  will  be  necessary  to  deter- 
mine whether  one    or    more    of    them    are 
broken  or  whether  they  are  stuck  in  their 
grooves  because  of  dirt  accumulations  from 
burnt  lubricating  oil. 

517.  Improperly  timed  valves  will  often  affect 


THE  PRACTICAL  GAS  ENGINEER.  141 

the  compression  and  cause  loss  of  power. 
The  springs  of  the  exhaust  or  inlet  valves 
may  be  too  weak  to  bring  the  valves  prop- 
erly to  their  seats. 

518.  Improperly  fitted  rings  or    an    imperfect 
qylinder  or  piston  may  be  the  cause  of  loss 
of  compression  in  a  new  engine.     A  gasket, 
packing  a  joint  between  the  cylinder  and  out- 
side, may  be  partially  blown  out. 

519.  Explosions  in  the  muffler  are  caused  by 
unfired  charges  accumulating  in  the  muffler 
due  usually  to  faulty  ignition  or  mixtures. 
Weak  mixtures  and  late  ignition  are  gener- 
ally  the   cause   of  firing  back   through   the 
inlet  passages.     If  an  engine  starts  all  tight 
but  begins  to  miss  fire  as  soon  as  it  gets  to 
full  speed  suspect  loose  wire  connection  or 
short  circuit  made  worse  by  the  vibrations 
of   the   engine   under   full    speed.     A   weak 
battery  also  should  be  suspected.     The  bat- 
tery will  gain  strength  enough  when  stand- 
ing to  start  the  engine  but  a  few  moments' 
run  will  exhaust  it. 

520.  If  an   engine   slows   down  after   running 
a   while   when   firing   its   charges    regularly 
look  for  an  overheated  piston  or  a  hot  box. 
Whatever  is  done  it  pays  to  look  carefully 
after  lubrication  and  radiation  or  cooling  of 
the  cylinder. 

521.  Premature  explosions  are  caused  by  over- 
heated  cylinders,   over   advance   of   the   ig- 
niter, too  high  compression,  heated  projec- 


142  THE  PRACTICAL  GAS  ENGINEER. 

tions  in  the  igniting  chamber  and  deposits 
of  burnt  carbon. 

522.  Trouble,  in  getting  power    from    a    two- 
cycle  engine    and    running    it    successfully, 
often  arises  on  account  of  a  leak  from  the 
crank   case   which   should   always    be    kept 
thoroughly   packed   so   as   to   be   absolutely 
compression  tight,  otherwise  trouble  is  bound 
to  occur. 

523.  Crank  case  explosions  are  often  met  with 
in  the    two-cycle    and    are    very    annoying. 
They  are  due  generally  to  too   light  com- 
pression in  the  crank  case,  to  prevent  the 
flame  in  the  cylinder  returning  through  the 
bypass.     A  bypass  throttle,  a  screen  in  the 
bypass  or  increasing  crank  case  compression 
are  the  remedies  to  overcome  this  trouble. 

524.  A  weak  mixture  or  a  late  explosion  causes 
slower    burning    and    consequently     higher 
pressure  and  a  delayed  flame  in  the  cylin- 
der when  the  inlet  port  from  the  bypass  is 
uncovered  by  the  piston,  resulting  in  crank 
case    explosions.     Throttling    the    inlet    be- 
tween vaporizer  and  crank  case  often  causes 
crank  case  explosions,    which    can  be  over- 
come when  the  engine  is  under    full    load 
by  turning  on  more  gasoline  and  advancing 
the  spark. 

525.  When  a  gasoline  engine,  whether  automo- 
bile,   motor    boat    or    commercial,    will    not 
run  the  operator    is    expected  to  do  some- 


THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  143 

thing  to  get  it  into  operation  in  the  short- 
est time  possible. 

Then  some  systematic  plan  of  procedure  to 
locate  the  trouble  is  quite  desirable.  Each 
operator  should  formulate  some  plan  in  his 
mind  for  this  purpose.  The  following  para- 
graphs are  given  as  a  sort  of  guide: 

526.  Determine  first  whether  the  ignition  system 
is  in  good  working  order.     If  found  good, 
test  the  compression.     If  it  is  found  all  right, 
is  the  carbureter  working?    //  carbureter  is 
found   in    serviceable    adjustment,  you  may 
suspect  and  look  for  water  in  gasoline,  tank 
empty,  supply  pipe  broken  or  clogged,  gas- 
oline cock  closed,  broken  exhaust  or  receiv- 
ing valve   springs,    exhaust    valve    remains 
seated,   broken   valve   stem,   inlet     manifold 
cracked  or  perforated,  ignition  out  of  time. 

527.  If  carbureter  is  not  working.     It  may  be 
flooded,  needle  valve  does  not  shut  off  gaso- 
line, jet  or  feed  pipe  may  be  obstructed,  floats 
may  be  too  high  or  too  heavy  when  replaced, 
float  may  be  punctured,  not  enough  gasoline 
in  float  chamber,  balance  levers  may  be  brok- 
en or  worn. 

528.  When  we  find  no  Compression  the  cause 
may  be  on  the  inside  or  on  outside  of  the 
engine.     If  enclosed  crank  case  engine  there 
may  be  a  broken  crank  shaft,  connecting  rod 
or  a  loose  cam.     The  piston  may  be  broken 
or  punctured.     There  may  be  broken  piston 
rings,  or  they  may  be  turned  so  that  their 


144  THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER. 

slots  are  in  line  or  they  may  be  gummed  and 
clogged  up  with  burnt  carbon.  Water  may 
be  leaking  into  the  cylinder  through  fire 
crack,  sand  hole  or  poor  joints. 

529.  Outside  of  the  engine    we    may  find  the 
causes  for  non-compression  as  follows:  Dirty 
valve  stems  that  cause  the  valves  to  stick, 
valve  broken  or  valve  seat  cracked,  valve 
spring  broken  or  lost  temper,  crack  in  cyl- 
inder or  explosion  chamber,  leak  around  the 
spark  plug  or  spark  mechanisms. 

530.  If  the  ignitor  should  not  be  working  we 
may  expect  to  find  no  spark  at  the  end  of  the 
spark  plug  after  unscrewing  and  testing  it. 
Look  for  spark  at  trembler  and  if  a  spark  is 
noted  there  the  voltage  for  a  storage  battery 
may  be  insufficient  if  storage  battery  is  in 
use.     If  dry  battery  is  in  use  test  the  amper- 
age.    The  trembler    may    be    stuck    or    not 
properly  set  by  trembler  screw.     There  may 
be  a  break  in  the  secondary  wire  or  a  leak 
between  the  coil  or  spark  plug.     The  high 
tension  wire  may  be  letting  out  its  current 
through  its  insulation  into  some  wet  or  damp 
spot  with  which  it  is  in  contact  or  nearly  so. 

531.  If  there  is  no  spark  at  trembler  nor  at  spark 
plug  the  batteries  should  be  suspected,   re- 
placing with  new  ones  will  determine  wheth- 
er the  batteries  are  exhausted.     Timer  may 
have  gotten  loose  or  misplaced.     There  may 
be  a  short  circuit  in  the  primary  coil.    Some- 
times the  trembler  gets  dirty  or  gummy. 


THE   PRACTICAL  GAS  ENGINEER.  145 

532.  Sometimes  a  spark  is  noticed  at  the  outer 
end    of    the    spark  plug.     Look  for  damp- 
ness or  water  on  the  outer  end.     It  may  be 
broken,  causing    short   circuit.     The  battery 
voltage  may  be  too  weak  to  make  the  leap 
between  the  points.     The  points  may  be  too 
far  apart.     Dirt  or  moisture  on  the  outer  end. 

533.  When  a  magneto  is  supplying  the  current 
and  the  engine  will  not  run  and  suspicion 
points  strongly  to  the  magneto,  after  testing 
the  spark  plug  and  you  find  a  spark,  deter- 
mine whether  the  magneto  is  in  time.     See  if 
it  is  properly  connected  up  or  properly  wired. 

534.  If  no  spark  can  be  had  at  the  spark  plug 
examine  the  carbon  brushes  on  the  magneto. 
Wires  may  be  attached  to  the  wrong  termi- 
nals or  not  at  all.     There  may  be  no  contact. 
Make  and  break  may  be  damaged  or  set  out 
of  time.     A  broken  wire.     Contacts  may  be 
dirty  or  loose  or  badly  worn  down.  Poor  in- 
sulation in  plug  or  in  the  wiper  or  in  their 
connections. 

535.  If  the  engine  runs  for  a  few  revolutions  or 
for  five  minutes  and  then  stops  and  can  not 
be  kept  going  for  any  length  of  time,  one 
may  suspect  water  in  the  cylinder,  a  frozen 
up  and  choked  inlet  passage,  too  much  oil  in 
the  crank  case,  poor  water  or  cooling  circula- 
tion due  to  lack  of  water  in  the  radiator,  a 
clogged  condition  of  the  pipes,  or  pump  in- 
sufficiency if  a  pump  is  used. 

536.  The  carbureter  may  not  be  properly  ad- 


146  THE   PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER. 

justed  so  as  to  admit  the  fuel  properly  or  the 
float  may  be  stuck.  There  may  also  be  a 
clogged  muffler  or  choked  exhaust.  In  some 
types  of  magnetos  look  for  loosened  plati- 
num contact  points. 


PART  VIII. 

537.  The  rim  velocity  of  an  engine  fly-wheel 
should   not   exceed   5,000   feet   per    minute. 
There  is  danger  of  bursting  the  wheel  from 
centrifugal  force  above  this  speed. 

538.  The  feet  travel  of  the  rim  is  determined  by 
multiplying  the  circumference  of  the  wheel, 
in  feet,  by  the  number  of  revolutions  it  makes 
in  one  minute. 

539.  By  heat  efficiency  or  thermal  efficiency  is 
meant  that  portion  of  heat  generated  in  the 
cylinder  of  the  gas  motor  which  is  actually 
converted  into  power  for  driving  machinery. 
A  good  motor  should  have  about  32  per  cent 
heat  efficiency. 

540.  By  mechanical  efficiency  is  meant  the  ratio 
between  the  useful  work  performed  by  the 
engine  and  the    energy    actually    expended 
in  producing  it.     It  should  be  about  85  per 
cent. 

541.  There  are  7j4  gallons  in  a  cubic  foot  of 
water,  and  it  weighs  62.4  Ibs.,  or  8.3  Ibs.  per 
gallon.     74°  gasoline  weighs  5.96  pounds  per 
gallon  arid  has  a  specific  gravity  of  .72. 


THE  PRACTICAL  GAS   ENGINEER.  147 

542.  The  work  necessary  to  raise  a  one  pound 
weight  one  foot  high  is  known  as  a  foot- 
pound.    There  are  33,000  foot-pounds  in  a 
horse-power.     Then  the  energy  required  to 
raise  33,000  pounds  one  foot  high  represents 
one  horse-power. 

543.  The  amount  of  heat  necessary  to  raise  the 
temperature  of  one  pound  of  water  from  a 
temperature  of  39  degrees  Fahrenheit  to  40 
degrees,    or  to    raise  the    temperature  one 
degree,  is  designated  as  a  British  Thermal 
Unit,  the  symbol  of  which  is  B.  T.  U. 

544.  A  B.  T.  U.  has  an  energy  equivalent  to 
778   foot-pounds;   therefore  42.4  B.   T.   U. 
equal  one  horse-power. 

545.  The  number  of  feet  the  piston  travels  in 
a  minute  is  known  as  piston  speed  or  piston 
travel.     This   should  not  exceed   1,000  feet 
per  minute. 


INDEX  149 

Paragraph  Page 

Air  Cooled  Engines 139  42 

Anchor  Bolts  in  foundation 120  38 

Anchor  Bolts—How  to  set  them.  122, 124  38,  39 

Anchor  Bolts,  Length  of 120  38 

Anchor  Plate 121  38 

Adjustable  Flame  for  Hot  Tube.  .176,  177  52 

Area  of  Valves 251,  258  68-70 

All  charges  taken  should  be 

ignited 301  82 

All  senses  used  for  detecting 

irregularities 304,  305  83 

Actual  Horse  Power 383  101 

Benzine 5,  409  8,  108 

Birth  of  the  Gas  Engine 9  8 

Base,  Construction  of 35,36  15,16 

Brass  Boxes  or  Bearings 40,  41  16 

Babbitt  Boxes  40,41  16 

Balancing  an  Engine 68  to  75  23,  24,  25 

Bolts  for  Foundation 120  38 

Bag,  Gas 143,  144  44 

Burner  for  Tube  Ignitor 172  51 

Battery  Connections 192  55 

Battery,  Fluid  Cell 193  55 

Battery,  Dry  Cell 194  5$ 

Bad  Running  Engine 203  >  58 

Binding  Post 185,  186  54 

Battery,  Life  of 293  80 

British  Thermal  Unit  543  147 

Battery,  How  to  revive 293,  296  80 

Barking  noise  in  cylinder 310,  313  85 

Back-firing,  its  causes 332,  334  89,  70 

Bound  Boxes 352  94 

Babbitting  a  box 359  95 


150  INDEX 

Paragraph  Page 

Burst  Cylinder  Jacket 364  97 

Brake  Horse  Power 385,  386  101 

Brake  Test  for    Power 388  to  396  102,  103 

Combustion 2  7 

Compression 2  7 

Charge,  Gas  and  Air 2  7 

Construction     of     two-cycle 

Engine 15  to  20  10,  11 

Cylinder  Construction 27  to  34  14,  15 

Cylinder  Walls,  how  thick 34  15 

Crank   Pin    center 40  16 

Crosshead    Construction 43  17 

Cylinder  rings,  purpose  of 48,  54  18,  19 

Coughing  noise  in  cylinder 55,  310,  313  20,  85 

Connecting  Rod 56  to  59  20,  21 

Crank  Shaft 60,  66  21,  22 

Crosshead   box 57  20 

Contact  Spark 89,  90  29,  30 

Cellar  for  engine  room 110  35 

Cap  stone  or  timber 117  37 

Circulating  pump 139  42 

Cooling  fan 139  42 

Connecting     gasoline     tank     to 

engine 145  to  151  45,  46 

Chimney  for  tube  ignitor 170,  171  50,  51 

Current   breaker 178  52 

Cleanliness 205  58 

Compression  relief   lever. 219  62 

Compressed  air  starter .229  to  236  64,  65 

Compression   and    its   relation 

to  power  243  67 

Compression  space,  size  of  ...  .244  67 

Compression  pressure 245,  246  67 


INDEX  151 

Paragraph  Page 
Constricted    valve    passage   kills 

power 251  to  259  68-70 

Cooling  the  cylinder 275  to  279  73,  74 

Cause  of  defective  ignition 285,  303  77,  82 

Character  of  igniting  spark 295  80 

Cylinder,  pounding  in 306  to  326  83,  88 

Causes  of  pre-ignition 308  to  313  84,  85 

Crosshead  knock 314  86 

Choked  inlet  passage 328  to  332  88,  89 

Cold  weather  affects  starting 335  to  337  90 

Causes   for   slower   speed   and 

stopping 346  92 

Cut  boxes  or  bearings 357  95 

Cylinder,  interior  of 380,  381  100 

Distillate 5,  426  8,  112 

Diameter  of  crank  shaft 66  22 

Diameter  of  fly  wheels 67  22 

Double    cylinder    or    balanced 

engine 73,  74  24 

Damp    cellar    unfit    for    engine 

room 110  35 

Dimensions  of  foundation 116  36 

Depth  of  foundation 115  36 

Dry    battery 194  56 

Dynamo  or  spark  ignition 195  56 

Defective  ignition 285  77 

Dynamo  current  tested 299  81 

Dynamo  fields  should  run  cool.  .300  82 

Difficult  starting 335,  340  90,  91 

Danger  in  handling  a  gas  engine. 377  to  380  100 

Danger  from  gasoline .419  to  434  110-113 

Explosion 2,  3  7 


152  INDEX 

Paragraph  Page 

Expansion  force 3  7 

Explosive  force 7  8 

Electric  spark  ignition 88,  89  29 

Electric     points,     terminals     or 

Electrodes 90  to  94  30,  31 

Engine  room 203  to  207  58 

Engine  room 109  to  112  34,  35 

Exhaust    Connections 152  46 

Exhaust    Mufflers ' 153  47 

Exhaust  into  a  flue  or  chimney.  154,  155  47 

Exhaust  into  well  or  cistern. .  .157  47 

Exhaust  into  box   159,160  48 

Electric  ignitor 178  to  201  52-57 

Electric  connections 185  to  192  54,  55 

Engineer  for  sure 204  to  219  58-62 

Engine  hard  to  start;  why? 214  60 

Engine    should    run    empty    at 

first 236,  239  65,  66 

Engine   shuts    down    when   too 

much  fuel 236  to  243  65,  66 

Economy  under  fuel  load 279  74 

Electric  current  tested 289  79 

Exhaust  sounds  a  guide  to  im- 
proper running     .  .        ......  304,  305  83 

Engine  slows  up  and  stops 346  92,  93 

Exploring  interior  of  cylinder. 380,  381  100 

Fuels  used  in  gas  engine 4,  5  8 

Four-cycle  principle 11  9 

Fly  wheel,  weight  and  diameter .  67  22 

Foundation  for  gas  engine 112  35 

Foundation  "any  old  floor" 112  35 

Foundation,  object  in 114  36 

Foundation,  depth  of 115  36 


INDEX  153 

Paragraph  Page 

Foundation,  dimension  of 116  36 

Foundation,  heighth  of 118  37 

Foundation,  concrete 119  37 

Foundation,  capped  with  stone 

or  timber 117  37 

Feeding  gasoline  by  gravity 145,  146  44,  45 

Feeding      gasoline      by      pump 

method 147,  148  45 

Foot  pound 542  147 

Fire    insurance    companies    re- 
quire pump  method 151  46 

Fluid  Battery 193  55 

Fuel  consumption 274  to  284  73-76 

Fuel    consumption    under    full 

load 280  74 

Fuel  consumption  in  relation  to 

speed 281  74 

Fuel  consumption  guarantee 282,  283  75 

Fuel     consumption,     rules      to 

follow 283  75 

Fields    of  dynamo  should    run 

cool 300  82 

Firing  every  charge  taken 301  82 

Feed  more  fuel 334  90 

Feed  less  fuel 347,  349  93 

Freeze  up  water  jacket 364  97 

Fire  resulting  from  gasoline. .  .431  #          112 

Gasoline 5,  409  to  433      8,  108-113 

Gas,  natural ,  .5  8 

Gas,  artificial 5  8 

Gas  engine 1,7  7,  8 

Gasoline   engine 7  8 

Gasoline,    atomized    or    vapor- 
ized   8,  335  to  338          8,  90,  91 


154  INDEX 

Paragraph  Page 

Governor,  types  of 100  32 

Governor,  hit  and  miss 102  to  107  33,  34 

Governor,  throttling 104  to  107  33,  34 

Gas  pipe  connections 140  to  144  43,  44 

Gas  regulator 141,  142  44 

Gasometer .    142  44 

Gas   bag 143,  144  44 

Gravity  system  of  feeding  gaso- 
line..  . .    145,  146  45 

Gasoline  tank,  where  located ...  145  to  149  45 

Gasoline,    too  much .    240,  242  66 

Gasoline,  weight  of  541  146 

Gasoline,     how     much     engine 

should  use 275  73 

Gas  engine  troubles 284  77 

Gasoline  slow  vaporizing 335  to  338  90,  91 

Ground  joints  leaking 341  91 

Grinding  valves 370  to  377  98-100 

Gasoline,  how  produced   ....  .409  to  413  108,  109 
Gasoline  sediment  in  bottom  of 

tank 414  to  417  109,  110 

Gasoline  purified 414,  428  109,  112 

Gasoline  tank,  best  to  use 418  110 

Gasoline    tank,     protect    from 

sun's  rays 419  110 

Gasoline  tank,  burial  in  ground.420  110 

Gasoline  tank  explosions 432,  433  113 

Hydro-carbon . .  .6  8 

Hydro -carbon  engine,  same  as 

gas  engine   7  8 

Height  of  base 36  16 

Hot  wrist  box 61  21 

Hit  and  miss  governor 101  to  107  32-34 


INDEX  155 

Paragraph  Page 

Height  of  foundation 118  37 

How  to  line  an  engine  with  line 

shaft    126  to  129  39,  40 

How  to  put  up  exhaust  connections  161  to  164  48,  49 

Hot  tube  ignitor 167  to  178  50-52 

Hard  starting  engine 214  60 

High  compression 246  67 

High  compression  causes  pre- 

ignition 245,  247  67,  68 

How  much  gasoline  engine  should 

use 275  73 

How  to  test  electric  current 289,  290  79 

How  to  test  sparker  insulation. .  .291  79 

How  to  revive  battery  current.    .  .296  to  299  80,  81 

Hot  boxes 61,  358  21,  95 

Heat  efficiency. . .    539  146 

How  to  patch  leaky  cylinder 

jacket 368,  369  9& 

How  to  grind  a  valve 370  to  376  98,  99 

How  to  start  a  gas  engine  397  104 

How  to  stop  a  gas  engine 398  105 

Horse  power  explained 382  to  388,  542  101, 147 

Horse  power,  actual   383  101 

Horse  power,  indicated 384  101 

Horse  power,  brake 385  101 

Initial  pressure 3                     *    '•  7 

Igniting  mechanism 86,  87  29 

Ignition,  electric  spark  method. .  .87,  89  29 
Insulation   of    stationary    ter- 
minal or  points ..  .93  to  96  31 

Insulating  material .96  31 

Installing  a  gas  engine 107  to  112  34,  35 

Igniting  tube  contains  burnt  gases.  175  51 


156  INDEX 

Paragraph  Page 

Ignition  too  early 286,  287  77,  78 

Ignition  with  hot  tube 286  77 

Ignition  with  electric  spark 287  78 

Insulation  tested 291  79 

Ignite  every  charge  admitted 301,  303  82 

Inlet    passage  choked 328  to  332  88,  89 

Ignition  gradually  fails 344  92 

Indicated  horse  power 384  to  387  101 

Indicator 387  101 

Illustration  of  engine  connections .  102 

Journal  box  construction 38  to  41  16 

Jump    spark   89  29 

Kerosene   engine 7  8 

Kiss    spark 98  32 

Knock  at  crosshead  or  wrist 314,  315  86 

Lining  up  engine  shaft 126  to  129  39,40 

Loss  of  power  by  radiation 138  41 

Length  of  ignition  tube 169  50 

Lack  of  power  in  explosions 222  63 

Lubricating  valve  stems 266,  267  72 

Length  of  piston 44  to  47  17,  18 

Lubricating  cylinder 269  72 

Lubricating  wrist  boxes 272  73 

Lubricating  frictional  parts 268  72 

Life  of  a  battery.  t 293  80 

Loss  of  power 323,  326  87,  88 

Leaky  valves 323,  325  87,  88 

Leaky  cylinder  rings 326  88 

Leaky  joints 341  91 

Leaky  valve  stems 342  92 

Liners <. 353,  354  94 

Lime  in  water  jacket  chamber 361  96 

Leak  in  cylinder  jacket 364  97 


INDEX 

Paragraph 

Motor 1,  7 

Mixture  of  gas  and  air 1,  7 

Making  and  breaking  the  elec- 
tric current 90,  91 

Mechanical  efficiency 540 

Movable   and    stationary  ter- 
minals or  contact  points 97,  98 

Magneto  for  igniting  purposes        195 

More  power,  more  fuel 242 

Misfiring 301,  303,  327 

Naptha,  engine 7 

Natural  water  circulation 135 

Naptha , 409 

Oil,  kind  to  use  for  cylinder.    . .  208,  209 

Oiling  valve  stems 210,  266,  267 

Oiling  the  gas  engine 208 

Oiling  frictional  parts 268 

Oiling  cylinder 269 

Oiling  wrist  boxes  < 272 

Obstinate  starting 335  to  340 

Overcharging  with  fuel 335  to  337 

Prime  mover 1 

Pressure  in  the  Cylinder 3 

Parts  necessary  to  a  gas  engine ...  24,  25 

Piston,  how  constructed 42  to  47 

Piston  rings,  same  as  cylinder 

or  packing  rings 48  to  54        * 

Pitman 56  to  59 

Piping  up  an  engine 129 

Piping   water  to  engine  from 

cooling  tank 132  to  135 

Piping  water  to  engine  from 

hydrant    136  to  139 

Piping  gasoline  to  engine 145  to  148 


158  INDEX 

Paragraph  Page 
Preliminaries    to    starting    a 

new  gas  engine .203  58 

Pre-ignition 247  68 

Pre- ignition,  causes  of  247  to  251  68 

Pre-ignition,  cause  of  f ounding . .  306  83 

Pre-ignition,  how  to  test 308,  309  84 

Pounding    in  Cylinder 306  to  326  83  88 

Piston,  cauie  of  pound 310,  316  85,  86 

Pistons    speed   545  147 

Pins,  crosshead  and  wrist 356  95 

Packing   360  96 

Power,  actual  horse 383  101 

Power,  indicated  horse 384  101 

Power,  brake  horse 385,  386  101 

Power     382,  387  101 

Place  equipments  where  most 

convenient 406,  407  108 

Paraffine  oil 414  109 

Ring  for  cylinder,  how  should 

be  made 48  to  54  18,  19 

Room  in  which  to  set  an  engine. ,  109  to  112  34,  35 

Regulator,  gas 141,  142  44 

Receiving  valve  time  of 262  71 

Reviving  battery  current 296  to  299  80,  81 

Sediment  at  bottom  of   gaso- 
line tank 414,  416,  4  109,  112 

Storing   gasoline    422  111 

Stopping  the  gas  engine 398  105 

Setting  the  valves 259  70 

Spark  controlled  by  governor 99  32 

Setting  the  gas  engine 107  34 

Scavenging   engine 165  49 

Scavenging,    how    done    with 

exhaust 166  49 


INDEX 

Paragraph 

Switch  or  current  breaker 178  to  184 

Spark  coil 179 

Spark  coil,  its  purpose 181,  182 

Spark  or  igniting  dynamo 195 

Spark  or  igniting  magneto 195 

Steam  cylinder  oil  not   good 

for  gas  engine 209 

Starting  gas  engine 211,  397 

Starting  cup 213 

Starting  by  hand 212 

Starting  relief  lever  or  valve 219 

Starting    by  one- half  turn    of 

the   wheel 220,  221 

Starting  with  air  pump    223 

Starting  with  match  igniter 224  to  228 

Starting  with  compressed  air 229  to  233 

Starting  with  light  air  pressure . .  234 

Starting,  causes  of  difficult   335  to  340 

Sparker   points,  how  to  time 263,  264 

Sparker  insulation  291 

Short  circuit  explained 288 

Sounds    conf ou nded    with 

pounding 

Spark  coil,  short  circuit  in 294,  295 

Speed  gets  lower,  engine  stops. . .  .346 

Smoke  at  end  of  exhaust  pipe 347 

Smoke  from  the  cylinder 349,  351 

Setting  a  box 355 

Travel  of  fly-wheel  rim 538 

Two-cycle  engine  and  how  it 

operates 15,  20  to  23 

Two  compression  chambers  in 

a  two-cycle  engine 15 

Thickness  of  cylinder  wall 33,  34 


160  INDEX 

Paragraph  Page 

Timing  the  spark 97  31 

Throttling  governor 104,  106  33,  34 

Templet 123  38 

Tube   ignitor  described 167  to  178  50-52 

Turning  the  wheels  over  compres- 
sion point 219  62 

Turn!  Turn!  Turn!  and  no  start.  214  to  218  60-62 

Timing    the   valves 259  70 

Test  engine   to   see  if  valves  and 

ignitor  are  in  time 261  71 

Timing   the  igniting  points 97,  263  31,  71 

Timing  the  receiving  valve 262,  71 

Timing  the  exhaust  valve 265  71 

Troubles    encountered    with    gas 

engine 284  77 

Testing  the  electric  current 289  79 

Testing  dynamo  current 299  81 

Thumping  in  cylinder*  causes  of   317  86 

Testing  leaky  valves 346  92 

Testing  power  of  engine 388,  396  102,  103 

Unnatural  sounds  detected 319,322  87 

Valve  ports,  location  of 28,  29  14 

Valves  and  their  location 75,  76  25 

Valves,  type  of. 75  25 

Valves,  manner  of   operating 75  to  78  25,  26 

Valves,    chambers   should  be 

bolted  on  cylinder 78,  79  26 

Valve,  exhaust  should  be  watered  80  27 
Valve,  gas  and  gasoline  com- 
bination   81,  82  27 

Valve,   gas 83  27 

Valve,  gasoline 84,  85  28 

Valve  in  water  connection 131  40 


INDEX 

Paragraph 
Valve  stem  should  not  be  oiled . .  210 

Valve  areas 251  to  259 

Valves,  how  to  time  them 259 

Vaporizing    gasoline   in  cold 

weather 335  to  338 

Valves,  how  to  grind 370 

Why    four-cycle   engines    are 

preferred   13,  14 

Weight  of  piston 44  to  47 

Wrist  pin,  size  of 64 

Wiping  spark 98 

Water  connections 130,  407 

Water  connections,  valves  in 131,  132 

Water  connections  with  cool- 
ing tank 132  to  135 

Water,  weight  of 541 

Water   connections  with  hydrantl36,  137 

Water  supply 207 

Water  for  cooling  purposes 275  to  278 

Water  temperature 275,  278 

Water  too  cool 277 

Weight  of  gasoline   541 

Water  in  cylinder 339,  340 

What  method  of  ignition  is  best. .  196 

Why  are  engines  hard  to  start 214 

Weak  explosions 345 


162  INDEX 


Index  to  Part  VI. 


Paragraph  Page 

Armature  brushes 463,  464,  471  125,  127 

Battery  current  ignition 437  114 

Battery  for  starting  purposes 440,  441  115,  116 

Clean  commutator  brushes 463,  471  125,  127 

Catalytic  ignition 437,  438  114,  115 

Combination  magneto  and  dy- 
namo    447  to  450  119,  120 

Current    strength     for     jump 

and  touch  spark 457  122 

Care  of  ignitors 459  123 

Dynamo  and    magneto  ignition.  .434  113 

Dynamo  explained 440  115 

Damp  insulation 467  126 

Electric  current  strength 435  114 

Flame  ignition 437  114 

Field  windings  as  spark  coil 453  121 

Generators   with  speed  governors442  117 

Hot  tube  ignition. 437  114 

High  tension  generator 458  123 

How  to  set  generator 469  127 

Ignitors,  dynamo  and  magneto  . .  .439  115 

Jump   spark 455  to  458  121,  122 

Keep  clean 468  126 

Look  for  little  things 460  124 

Lost  magnetism  465,  466  126 

Magneto  explained 443  1 18 

Methods  of  ignition .437  114 

Magneto  dynamo 447,  448  119 

Over-oiling  a  common  trouble. . .  .461,  462,  470  125,  127 


INDEX  163 

Paragraph  Page 

Reliable   ignition  equipment 436  114 

Sure  ignition  important 434  113 

Speed   of  dynamo    should  be 

uniform    440  1 15 

Selection  of  ignitor 446  119 

Spark  coil 454  to  457  121 

Time   to  pick  up  current 459  123 

Troubles    with     dynamo    or 

magneto   459,  460  123,  124 

Uniform  speed  of  igniters .444  118 

Variable  speed 445  118 

Wire  connections  on  magneto 

dynamo    451,452  120 

Wire  brushes  soaked  in  oil 471  127 


Index  to  Part  VII 


A  heap  of  troubles 526  to  536  143-145 

Ammeter 488  132 

Amperes  for  jump  spark 488,  492  132,  134 

Battery    strength 488,  492  132,  134 

Buzz  of   the   vibrator 509,  510  138 

Crank  case  compression 522,  523  142 

Cylinder  rings  lose  compression.   516,  518  140,  141 

Compression  of  the  mixture 514  140 

Carburetors 473  to  477  128,  129 

Clogged  float  needle 473  128 

Cold  weather  affects  starting 479  130 

Choked  inlet  passage 482  130 

Coil  short  circuited   496  135 

Contact  of  terminals 499  136 

Circuit,    primary. .      501,  504  136,  137 


164  INDEX 

Paragraph  Page 

Circuit,  secondary 501  136 

Circuit  breaker  513  139 

Coil,  jump  spark,  action,  and 

how  made 501  to  512  136-139 

Dislodge  obstruction  in  pipe, 

how 478  129 

Dynamo  or  magneto 487  132 

Dry  battery  reserve 486  131 

Dry  battery  strength 491  133 

Electrodes  or  terminals  not  in 

contact  497,498  135 

Explosions  in  crank  case 523  142 

Float  feed 473  128 

Fuel  tank,  empty 473  128 

Gasoline  blow  torch  for  cold 

weather  starting „  . .  .479,  480  130 

Generator  and  storage  battery 487  132 

Hammer  break  spark 48 1,  490'  493  131-134 

Hot  box 520  141 

Igniting  current,  source  of  and 

strength 488  132 

Insulation  broken 498  135 

Ignition  ammunition,  plenty  of  it  490  133 

Jump  spark 484,  491,  494  131-134 

Leak  in  inlet  passage 476  129 

Loose  wire  connections , ...  .519  141 

Lubrication 520  141 

Mixture  too  rich 474  128 

Muffler  explosions 519  141 

Overheated  piston 520  141 

Packing  blown  out 476,  518  129,  141 

Plan  to  locate  trouble 525  142 

Power  leak 515  140 


INDEX  165 

Paragraph  Page 

Premature  explosions 521  141 

Power  troubles  in  two  cycle 522,  524  142 

Short  circuit     510  138 

Starting   in  cold    weather 479,  480  130 

Suction  valve  may  stick 482  130 

Source  of  igniting  current   485  131 

Spark  testing     495  134 

Spark  coil 496  135 

Tank  empty 473,526  128,143 

Trap  for  water  in  gasoline  pipe.  .477  129 
Testing    current    and    battery 

strength 488,  491  132,  133 

Testing  spark            495  134 

Two-cycle  troubles 522,  524  142 

Valve  springs  broken . .  .526  143 

Valves    dirty,    corroded    and 

improperly  timed 516,517  140 

Vibrator  in  coil 503,512  137,139 

Vaporizer,  flushing  the     473  128 

Volt  meter 488  132 

Voltage   of    current 488,491  132,133 

Water  in  gasoline 477,  526  129,  143 

Why     battery      becomes      ex- 
hausted   quickly 499  136 

Wire    broken  within  insulation.  .500  136 

Weak   mixture 519,  524  141,  142 

Weak  battery 519  '          141 


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(ONSTRUaiQHfeOPERK 
JA(KMAM-RUSSELl-CHRNUTE 

'-'/-L-v'  •*%'/• 


Monoplanes  and 
Biplanes 

Price  S2.5O 

Their  Design,  Construction 
and  Operation 

By  G.C.  Hoenig,  B.  Sc.,  A.M. 

340  pages,  278  illustrations, 
6x8  K  inches.  A  new  practical 
and  authoritative  work  on  avi- 
ation. Valuable,  interesting 
and  instructive  alike  to  the  be- 
ginner and  practical  aviator. 

A  most  simple,  complete  and 
practical  work  on  the  subject 

Flying  Machines 

Price:    Cloth  Sl.OO 
Leather  SI. 50 

Construction  and  Operation 
By  W.  J.  Jackman,  M.  E. 
Thos.  H.  Russell  A.M.,  M.E. 
Octave  Chanute,  C.  E. 

Pocket  si/e,  250  pages,  fully  illus- 
trated. This  is  a  "show  how"  book 
for  those  who  wish  to  build  and 
operate  flying  machines.  It  is  full 
of  the  latest, information  on  aerial 
navigation. 


Model  Balloons  and  Flying 
Machines 

Price  SI.. "JO 

Just  Published 

By  J.  H.  Alexander,  M.B.  and  A.I.E.E. 
127  pages,  45  illustrations.    The  first  three  chapters  are 
devoted  to  balloons  and  their  voyages.    The  last  five  chapters 
to  Aeroplanes,  Flying  Machines,  Gliders.  Monoplanes,  Bi- 
planes, Toy  Flyers.    Wright,  Bleriot  and  Voisin  Models. 

Mailed  Post  Paid  on  Receipt  of  Price 

LONGfNECKER   PUBLISHING  CO. 

Anderson,   Ind. 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  SO  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  $I.OO  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


JUL  16 

JUL  JL6 
DEC  ^ 


193G 


1946 


464559 


77 


L 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


